Title: Nest-site selection and nest survival of two cavity-nesting bird species
Contact:
Scott Story
Funding: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Payette National Forest, Krassel District
Abstract:
Cavity-nesting birds depend heavily on snags for nesting and foraging habitat. Past management in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the Interior Columbia River Basin has likely influenced habitat characteristics that are important to cavity-nesting birds. Nest-site selection by cavity-nesting birds may differ by location, but it is more likely that patterns of nest-site selection remain the same regardless of location. We will determine whether models of nest-site selection differ with location in several ponderosa pine forests spread across the Interior Columbia River Basin. We will also examine if the same factors influencing nest-site selection are consistent with those influencing nest survival. Results from this study could lead to a better understanding of how cavity-nesting birds select nesting habitat in variously managed forests and inform managers about forest conditions that lead to the highest nest survival of cavity-nesting birds, an assemblage of species at risk.
