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Brent Ortego

Publication Date

6-1-2003

Abstract

Birds were mist‑netted during the spring and fall of 2001 and 2002 in expansive running liveoak (Quercus virginiana) woodlands that were 4 and 10 miles inland from Matagorda Bay and Gulf of Mexico, respectively, in Calhoun County Texas. The woodlands were a mosaic of running live oak less than 10 feet tall and coastal prairie in a 35,000‑acre area that was comprised roughly of 50% of each between Powderhorn Lake and Matagorda Bay. 1200 mist‑net hours were used during the spring and 2500 during the fall of two years to sample resident and migrant birds during March and April, and August through October. Although roughly the same number of species were captured each season (55 in spring and 58 in fall), the frequency of captures were twice as high in the fall (50 per 100 net‑hours vs. 24). Fall neotropical migrants and flycatchers were netted six times and warblers four times more frequent than spring. The only species group more abundant in spring were neotropical thrushes which were caught at 0.6 birds per 100 net‑hours and none were captured in fall. At the distance of the study area from the Gulf, most spring inland bound migrants needing to make emergency landings probably did so prior to reaching the study area and those more fit migrants flew over the study area before making first land fall. In contrast, fall migrants made frequent use of the woodlands for foraging prior to migrating over or around the Gulf.

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