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1 July 2005 Use of radio-telemetry to reduce bias in nest searching
Larkin A. Powell, Jason D. Lang, David G. Krementz, Michael J. Conroy
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Abstract

We used traditional searching, as well as radio-telemetry, to find 125 Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) nests during 1994–1996 at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, USA. We compared daily nest survival rates for 66 nests of radio-marked birds with 59 nests of birds found through systematic searching. By using radio-telemetry, we found Wood Thrush nests in higher elevation pine habitats, in addition to the more usual hardwood forests with moist soils. We found nests of radio-marked birds farther from streams than nests found by systematic searching. Thirty-two percent of radio-marked birds' nests were found at the tops of slopes, compared to 15% of the nests found by traditional searching. In addition, radio-marked birds generally moved up-slope for re-nesting attempts. Although the distribution of nests found with telemetry and searching varied, daily nest survival did not vary between the two groups. Radio-telemetry provided new information about Wood Thrush nesting habitats. We believe radio-telemetry can be a valuable addition to traditional searching techniques; it has the potential to provide a sample of nests free from a priori habitat biases.

Larkin A. Powell, Jason D. Lang, David G. Krementz, and Michael J. Conroy "Use of radio-telemetry to reduce bias in nest searching," Journal of Field Ornithology 76(3), 274-278, (1 July 2005). https://doi.org/10.1648/0273-8570-76.3.274
Received: 26 July 2004; Accepted: 1 December 2004; Published: 1 July 2005
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KEYWORDS
bias
Hylocichla mustelina
nest monitoring
nest survival
radio-telemetry
Wood Thrush
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