Nesting Ecology of Swainson's Warblers in a South Carolina Bottomland Forest

Abstract We studied the nesting ecology of Swainson's Warblers (Limnothylpis swainsonii) in Britton's Neck, South Carolina, USA and found 144 nests of which 78 were active. Nest initiations followed a bimodal distribution. Clutches averaged (± SE) 3.19 ± 0.20 eggs and 2.50 ± 0.33 fledglings per nest. The Mayfield nest success estimate for a 23-day cycle was 50%. Logistic exposure models indicate nest success to be most impacted by Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) nest parasitism, nest age, and distance to the nearest swamp. Unparasitized nests that were younger in age and further from a swamp had the highest daily survival rates. Ten percent of nests were parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds with a 26% reduction in Swainson's Warbler hatching and an 89% reduction in fledgling production. Multiple brooding was observed in 21% of 2000 and 2001 Swainson's Warbler nests. Vines, such as greenbrier (Smilax spp.), were the most common substrate used for nesting, although two-thirds of the nests contained cane (Arundinaria tecta and A. gigantea) within a 5-m radius.

[1]  T. J. Benson,et al.  Swainson's Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) , 2019, Birds of the World.

[2]  C. Moorman,et al.  Prey Selection by Swainson's Warblers on the Breeding Grounds , 2010 .

[3]  D. Dey,et al.  Songbird Nest Survival is Invariant to Early-successional Restoration Treatments in a Large River Floodplain , 2010 .

[4]  N. Anich,et al.  Effects of a Flood on Foraging Ecology and Population Dynamics of Swainson's Warblers , 2010 .

[5]  T. J. Benson,et al.  Effects of Brown-Headed Cowbird Parasitism on Provisioning Rates of Swainson's Warblers , 2010 .

[6]  T. J. Benson,et al.  Short-Term Effects of Flooding on Understory Habitat and Presence of Swainson’s Warblers , 2010, Wetlands.

[7]  T. J. Benson,et al.  Swainson's Warbler Nest-Site Selection in Eastern Arkansas , 2009 .

[8]  D. Twedt,et al.  Bird Response to Prescribed Silvicultural Treatments in Bottomland Hardwood Forests , 2009 .

[9]  P. Leberg,et al.  Effects of Selective Logging on Breeding Bird Communities in Bottomland Hardwood Forests in Louisiana , 2006 .

[10]  J. D. Lanham,et al.  Monotypic Nest Site Selection by Swainson's Warbler in the Mountains of South Carolina , 2006 .

[11]  P. Stouffer,et al.  Habitat Selection by Swainson's Warblers Breeding in Loblolly Pine Plantations in Southeastern Louisiana , 2006 .

[12]  T. Shaffer,et al.  TIME-SPECIFIC VARIATION IN PASSERINE NEST SURVIVAL: NEW INSIGHTS INTO OLD QUESTIONS , 2005 .

[13]  T. Shaffer.  A UNIFIED APPROACH TO ANALYZING NEST SUCCESS , 2004 .

[14]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Model selection and multimodel inference : a practical information-theoretic approach , 2003 .

[15]  S. Hudman,et al.  HABITAT USE BY SWAINSON'S WARBLERS IN A MANAGED BOTTOMLAND FOREST , 2003 .

[16]  Stanlee M. Miller,et al.  First Report of a Double-brooded Swainson's Warbler , 2003 .

[17]  Gary E. Williams,et al.  Are Traditional Methods of Determining Nest Predators and Nest Fates Reliable? An Experiment with Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) Using Miniature Video Cameras , 2002 .

[18]  G. Graves,et al.  HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS IN THE CORE BREEDING RANGE OF THE SWAINSON'S WARBLER , 2002 .

[19]  F. Thompson,et al.  Nest Predators and Fragmentation: a Review and Meta‐Analysis , 2002 .

[20]  G. Graves.  FACTORS GOVERNING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SWAINSON'S WARBLER ALONG A HYDROLOGICAL GRADIENT IN GREAT DISMAL SWAMP , 2001 .

[21]  Francesca J. Cuthbert,et al.  UNCERTAIN NEST FATES IN SONGBIRD STUDIES AND VARIATION IN MAYFIELD ESTIMATION , 2000 .

[22]  T. H. Roberts,et al.  Bird distributions and forest zonation in a bottomland hardwood wetland , 1996, Wetlands.

[23]  G. Graves.  Censusing wintering populations of Swainson's warblers: surveys in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica , 1996 .

[24]  E. Wiggers,et al.  Habitat selection and breeding status of Swainson's warblers in southern Missouri , 1996 .

[25]  R. Holmes,et al.  MULTIPLE BROODING AND PRODUCTIVITY OF A NEOTROPICAL MIGRANT, THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER (DENDROICA CAERULESCENS), IN AN UNFRAGMENTED TEMPERATE FOREST , 1992 .

[26]  R. Macwhirter.  On the rarity of intraspecific brood parasitism , 1989 .

[27]  Douglas H. Johnson.  Estimating Nest Success: The Mayfield Method and an Alternative , 1979 .

[28]  R. B. Payne,et al.  The Ecology of Brood Parasitism in Birds , 1977 .

[29]  Arvind O. Panjabi,et al.  The Partners in Flight Handbook on Species Assessment , 2012 .

[30]  T. J. Benson,et al.  Habitat and Landscape Effects on Brood Parasitism, Nest Survival, and Fledgling Production in Swainson's Warblers , 2010 .

[31]  T. J. Benson,et al.  Identifying predators clarifies predictors of nest success in a temperate passerine. , 2010, The Journal of animal ecology.

[32]  J. Gerwin,et al.  RESEARCH NOTES: SWAINSON'S WARBLER HABITAT SELECTION IN A MANAGED BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD FOREST , 2005 .

[33]  J. Sauer.  [Book review] Restoring North America?s Birds: Lessons from Landscape Ecology (by R. A. Askins, Yale University Press) , 2001 .

[34]  N. Carrie.  Swainson's Warblers nesting in early seral pine forests in East Texas , 1996 .

[35]  L. M. Cowardin,et al.  Factors associated with duck nest success in the prairie pothole region of Canada , 1995 .

[36]  A. Echternacht,et al.  Biodiversity of the southeastern United States : lowland terrestrial communities , 1993 .

[37]  Lyndon C. Lee,et al.  Ecological processes and cumulative impacts : illustrated by bottomland hardwood wetland ecosystems , 1990 .

[38]  B. Meanley.  Pre-nesting and nesting behavior of the Swainson's warbler , 1969 .