OBJECTIVE

Floodplain deciduous forests along the Mississippi River and its tributaries in and near Winona contain a wide variety of bird species during many seasons of the year. In the springtime, these forests are homes for many year-round residents (e.g., woodpeckers, sparrows, hawks) and migratory species that breed in these habitats (e.g., waterfowl, ospreys, eagles, wrens, vireos). Additional species (e.g., a wide variety of warblers) stop over in these forests when passing through during their migration to points further north. Many of these species exhibit distinct habitat preferences within these floodplain forests, preferring the ground, the water, the canopy, or some habitat in between. This exercise will familiarize you with a wide variety of different birds found in floodplain forests during springtime and examine the birds' habitat preferences within these forests.


HYPOTHESIS

Birds will be evenly distributed throughout the various habitats within the floodplain forest during springtime.


METHODOLOGY

As many birds as possible will be counted and identified within the floodplain forest in Aghaghming Park during a single morning. Birds will be counted and identified to species with the aid of binoculars as we move slowly along the trails within the park. Males and females of each species will be tallied together. The habitat occupied by each bird also will be recorded according to the following scheme:

Code - Habitat

G - Ground
W - Water
S - Shrub layer
U - Understory trees
C - Canopy (tops of large trees)
T - Trunks of large trees
L - Large limbs of large trees
F - Flying

The instructor will provide you with a data sheet to facilitate collection of habitat information.


ANALYSIS

After data are collected, display the species and numbers of birds observed according to habitat type in table form. Consult your field guide for appropriate names (common and scientific). Using your field guide, classify the birds observed as permanent residents, residents during the breeding season only, and passing migrants. Compare the relative abundances (%) of different species for the total of all birds observed, and within specific habitats. Which species were most abundant overall, and were different species more abundant than others within specific habitats? Compare bird distribution within the various habitat types with the aid of a Chi-square goodness-of-fit test (Ecology lab manual). Use the same test to compare the distributions of several of the more common species observed as well. Which group was most common: year-round residents, breeders only, or migrants?


EQUIPMENT

Bird field guide
Binoculars
Data sheet
Ecology lab manual

___________________________________________________
Neal D. Mundahl
Department of Biology
Winona State University
Winona, Minnesota

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