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Prescribed Fire and Birds in Florida’s

Upland Pine Forests

Jim CoxTall Timbers Research Station

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Pineland birds represent a large proportion of total bird diversity in the Florida

Foraging/Nesting Guilds (Hamel 1982)

Canopy (32%)

Midstory (24%)

Ground/Shrub

Time since burned

Ground/Shrub (44%)

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FrequencyFrequency

Season

ScaleScale

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1966

NB-66Fire suppression for 40 years

1966

1981

Loblolly-shortleaf

Water oak, sweetgum, pine

2001

Bird Counts on NB66: 1966-1983

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Fire Frequency and Bachman’s Sparrow

Trend -2.3%

43 nest in areas

Nest Site Selection

a easburned <10 months

4 nests in4 nests in areas burned >18 months

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Ground cover

Vegetation Measurements

composition quantified using Daubenmeir grid

Grass biomass measured using Branby’s disc (1.5Branby s disc (1.5 kg; 3.3 lbs)

Emily Toriani Clark Jones

10

15

ound

5

10

Per

cent

Bar

e G

r oBa

re G

roun

d

-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24Months Since Burn

0

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10

15

ound

%

5

10P

erce

nt B

are

Gr o

Bar

e G

roun

d %

-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24Months Since Burn

0

Nests

6 Months Post-burn 18 Months Post-burn

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Burn frequencies optimal for some species may seem extreme

Eastern MeadowlarkFlorida BBS trend: -5.45% per year

Eastern Meadowlark

6

7

Meadowlark Trends on Wade Tract

2

3

4

5

EAM

L T e

rrito

r ies

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005YEAR

0

1

2

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Frequent fires can provide benefits in

unexpected ways.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

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Frequency:

2-3 year return intervals best meet needs of declining g

pine-grassland birds

FrequencyFrequency

Season

ScaleScale

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12 ha study area

Return of Breeding Birds Following a Late May Burn

12 ha study area

70 ha burn block burned 5/28/2003

4 surveys prior to burn

9 surveys conducted after burn (1 visit every 5-7 days )

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40

50

Variation by Foraging/Nesting Guilds

10

20

30To

tal I

n div

idua

l s

MIDSTORYGCOVERCANOPY

PRE

Week1-3

Week4-6

Week6+

Time

0

MIDSTORY

Influence of Season of Prescribed FireOn Bird Populations on ANF

Eight 12-ha study plots (4 growing season, 4 dormant season biennial fires)

Spot-map censuses in winter and breeding season from 1995 to 1997

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Influence of Season of Prescribed FireOn Bird Populations

29 species held territories

7 to 14 (mean=11.6) species per plot per year

10.3-22.5 terr. per plot per year

No statistically significant differences in the number of species or territories between

treatments

Clark Jones and Dr. Bob Cooper, UGA

Lightning-season Fire and Bachman’s Sparrow

Conventional Wisdom…Sparrows dispersed 1-3 days post-Sparrows dispersed 1 3 days postburn and never returned

Survival and reproduction lower after burning

No breeding activity following burns

Post-burn densities < pre-burn

Burns may eliminate all breeding opportunities because adult survival is ca. 50%

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No differences in (1) home range sizes, (2) male site

N = 365

male site fidelity, and (3) the distance males moved after burns

Sparrow #1177 b d d hi

Wade Tract

abandoned his territory in April 2007 -- 3 weeks before burn!

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10

15

ound

%

5

10P

erce

nt B

are

Gr o

Bar

e G

roun

d %

Two-year return interval

-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24Months Since Burn

0

Nests

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Winter Bachman’s Sparrow Abundance

Wade Tract Wade Tract

Burns

Henslow’s Sparrow

Global Population <75,000

Use 3-year rough on breeding ground

SparrowWinters throughout southeastern pinelands (Oct – Apr)

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Season of Burn and Brown-headed Nuthatch

Nest Sites <2 mPeak Nesting March-April

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12BURNEDDEPREDATION 20

RRATGRAT

Breeding Phenology and Snake Abundances

4

6

8

10

Cou

nt

FLEDGEDBURNED

5

10

15

Cou

nt

RRAT

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14Weeks After March 1

0

2

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14Weeks After March 1

0

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Winter burns with extensive scorching also may place extra pressures on sandhill populations

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Nuthatches on Ocala National Forest

Not ObservedObserved

Nuthatches on Ocala National Forest

Not ObservedObserved

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Grasshoppers and otherinsects increase significantly following lightning-season burning(P h t l 1998)(Provencher et al. 1998).

Lightning-season burns may provide higher abundance of insects throughout summer monthsmonths(Brennan et al. 1995, 1997).

Loggerhead Shrike

SeasonBurns have impacts

dl fregardless of season

Impacts are out-weighed by long-term gainsg g

Merits of lightning-season burns still debated

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FrequencyFrequency

Season

ScaleScale

“…burn at the smallest scalepossible topossible to improve bobwhite survival and productivity.”

Wellendorf and Palmer 2006

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Autumn Bobwhite Densities on Large- & Small-scale Burn Plots

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Henslow’s Sparrow

Winter burns eliminate habitat and concentrate birds in small areasbirds in small areas.

Thatcher (2006) recommended maintaining unburned vegetation within 300 m of burn blocks (ca. 200 acre blocks).

Burn Scale and Bachman’s Sparrow

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Summary

Large SmallMale home range size

Male site fidelity

Maximum displacement

Monthly survival rates?

?

?

y

Male densities

Tendency

Statistically significant

“Because of concerns about the potential effectsabout the potential effects of burn scale, it took us 5 days to burn the acreage we’d normally burn in a yday…..”

Chuck Hess, ANF

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Scale

Concerns exist but gainsConcerns exist but gains appear to be marginal.

Care should be taken where small populations

occur.

FrequencyFrequency

Season

ScaleScale

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Frequency

ImportanceFrequency

Season

S lScale

Fire-dependent Species Are Declining Rapidly!

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L k f fi i thLack of fire is the disturbance!