Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)

Herbert, John A.; Mowbray, Thomas B.

doi:10.2173/bow.swaspa.01

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…A positive relationship between fuel load and temperatures during the month of departure may be indicative of an increase in arthropod prey abundance (sensu Morrison and Bolger 2002, Diggs et al 2011, Wood and Pidgeon 2015). Overall, wrens and kinglets had more information explained by weather variables compared to the sparrow species, which may be due to sparrows being much less reliant on arthropods during the non‐breeding season compared to wrens or kinglets (Falls and Kopachena 2020, Hebert and Mowbray 2020, Johnson 2020, Swanson et al 2021). Alternatively, differences we observed may be due to differences in 1) body size as kinglets and wrens are smaller than either sparrow species or 2) sample sizes, which were approximately three to four times greater for the sparrow species compared to kinglets and wrens, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The following four species within our dataset met the above criteria and were used to assess the importance of endogenous factors and local weather on migratory departure decisions: white‐throated sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis , swamp sparrow Melospiza georgiana , ruby‐crowned kinglet Corthylio calendula and house wren Troglodytes aedon . While it is apparent we captured birds that did not reside during the non‐breeding season at our study site, we believe they likely resided in the region during the non‐breeding season and were exposed to similar exogenous conditions (Falls and Kopachena 2020, Hebert and Mowbray 2020, Johnson 2020, Swanson et al 2021), thus they likely pass through our site shortly after departure and their behavior should closely represent departure behavior (i.e. timing).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local weather and endogenous factors affect the initiation of migration in short‐ and medium‐distance songbird migrants

Zenzal

Johnson

Moore

et al. 2023

Journal of Avian Biology

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Migratory birds employ a variety of mechanisms to ensure appropriate timing of migration based on integration of endogenous and exogenous information. The cues to fatten and depart from the non‐breeding area are often linked to exogenous cues such as temperature or precipitation and the endogenous program. Shorter distance migrants should rely heavily on environmental information when initiating migration given relatively close proximity to the breeding area. However, the ability to fatten and subsequently depart may be linked to individual circumstances, including current fuel load and body size. For early and late departing migrants, we investigate effects of temperature, precipitation, lean body mass, fuel load and day of year on the initiation of migration (i.e. fuel load and departure timing) from the non‐breeding region by analyzing 21 years of banding data for four species of short‐ and medium‐distance migrants. Temperatures at the non‐breeding area were related to temperatures at potential stopover areas. Despite local cues being predictive of conditions further north, the amount variation explained by local weather conditions in our models differed by species and temporal period but was low overall (< 33% variation explained). For each species, we also compared lean body mass and fuel load between early and late departing migrants, which showed mixed results. Our combined results suggest that most individuals migrating short or medium distances in our study did not time the initiation of migration with local predictive cues alone, but rather other factors such as lean body mass, fuel load, day of year, which may be a proxy for the endogenous program, and those beyond the scope of our study also influenced the initiation of migration. Our study contributes to understanding which factors influence departure decisions of short‐ and medium‐distance migrants as they transition from the non‐breeding to the migratory phase of the annual cycle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local weather and endogenous factors affect the initiation of migration in short‐ and medium‐distance songbird migrants

Zenzal

Johnson

Moore

et al. 2023

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…Eastern Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins, Song Sparrows, Eastern Towhees, Swamp Sparrows, and Field Sparrows are all yearround residents in Ohio (Arcese et al 2020;Carey et al 2020;Greenlaw 2020;Herbert and Mowbray 2020;Jaster et al 2020;Yasukawa and Searcy 2020). With the exception of a few Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, and Red-winged Blackbirds , these species were not observed on The Wilds site until March.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and Habitat Associations of Winter and Spring Birds on a Reclaimed Surface Mine (The Wilds) in Ohio, USA

Ingold

2022

OJS

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Several studies have examined how grassland birds use reclaimed surface mines during the breeding season, but few studies have documented how these birds use these areas during the winter and early spring months. Using point counts, birds occupying a reclaimed surface-mine site in southeastern Ohio were surveyed from late December 2020 to April 2021. The primary objective was to document bird abundance and species richness across a temporal gradient spanning from late December 2020 through April 2021. Additionally, bird species composition was examined in habitat patches dominated by cool-season plants and in a single warm-season plot dominated by switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). A total of 1,452 bird sightings were made consisting of 40 species in 7 orders. Songbirds (order Passeriformes) comprised 60% of all sightings, and most of these (53%) were Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), and Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Thirty-nine species were observed on cool-season sites versus 13 species in the switchgrass plot. Species including returning Eastern Meadowlarks, Henslow's Sparrows (Centronyx henslowii), and Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla) were common on the cool-season plots, but uncommon or absent in the switchgrass plot. Conversely, the switchgrass plot had more wintering American Tree Sparrows (Spizelloides arborea) and returning Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana). Return rates of long-distance migratory species fell within the time frames for these species as obtained from previous studies in this region. The diverse habitat structure of the cool-season portions of this study site attracted some winter species, including birds of prey, as well as several returning migratory species.

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“…Swamp Sparrows use a variety of vegetation types from freshwater, intermediate, and high marsh to inland wet pine savannah along the Gulf of Mexico during winter (Herbert et al. 2020). Because the extent of wet pine savannah continues to decrease along the northern Gulf of Mexico (Morris et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution, abundance, and vegetation associations of birds in Mississippi tidal marshes during the non‐breeding season

et al. 2021

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Accurate estimation of populations of secretive marsh birds is difficult, especially during the non‐breeding season when vocalizations are infrequent. Thus, dynamics of marsh bird populations remain relatively unknown, especially during the non‐breeding season along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. To address this lack of information about populations of marsh birds during the non‐breeding season along the coast of Mississippi, we conducted 650 surveys along 130 line transects distributed across a spatially balanced sampling framework of tidal marshes from December to February 2018–2020. Using hierarchical distance‐sampling models for unmarked populations, we estimated species‐specific non‐breeding population densities, abundances, and vegetation associations of eight species of marsh birds across a mosaic of tidal marsh communities, spanning oligohaline to polyhaline emergent and open marsh systems. We estimated that 127,000 Red‐winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), 106,000 Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris), 37,000 Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima), 17,000 Clapper Rails (Rallus crepitans), 15,000 Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana), 14,000 Nelson's Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni), 10,000 Sedge Wrens (Cistothorus platensis), and 2000 Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) overwintered in the tidal marshes of Mississippi during our study. Further, we show that these species associate with different salinity ranges and vegetation communities within the broader estuarine marsh. Our population estimates and vegetation associations for vulnerable species provide important baselines from which assessments of future change can be compared.

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Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Local weather and endogenous factors affect the initiation of migration in short‐ and medium‐distance songbird migrants

Local weather and endogenous factors affect the initiation of migration in short‐ and medium‐distance songbird migrants

Abundance and Habitat Associations of Winter and Spring Birds on a Reclaimed Surface Mine (The Wilds) in Ohio, USA

Distribution, abundance, and vegetation associations of birds in Mississippi tidal marshes during the non‐breeding season

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