Abstract
Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is one of the fastest declining songbirds breeding in North America. The Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee support approximately 17% of the global breeding population of Cerulean Warblers at the southern end of their breeding range. In 2009, a survey conducted from 1994–2000 was reestablished on a plot in Frozen Head State Natural Area, Morgan County, Tennessee, to assess long-term trends in density of this species. Cerulean Warbler breeding densities fluctuated annually but did not show significant changes at Frozen Head State Natural Area from 1994–2015, in contrast to longterm range-wide and regional population trends. We also documented a breeding density of 25.5 pairs per 24.7-acres (10-hectare) in 2013, which is among the highest known breeding densities of Cerulean Warblers. Current research suggests that the population of Cerulean Warblers in the Cumberland Mountains may be a stable population. Protecting large blocks of mountainous, mature, deciduous forest in this region may be beneficial to Cerulean Warblers and the suite of declining Neotropical–Nearctic migratory songbirds.
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Recommended Citation
Somershoe, Scott G. and Welton, Melinda J.
(2022)
"Territory Density of Cerulean Warbler at Frozen Head State Natural Area, Tennessee, 1994-2015,"
The Migrant - Tennessee Ornithological Society: Vol. 93
:
Iss.
4
, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/migrant/vol93/iss4/2