Golden-Winged Warbler Breeding Habitat Characteristics and Nest Success in Clearcuts in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Despite widespread population declines, few studies have sought to quantify nesting habitat and reproductive characteristics of Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera). We characterized territory and nesting habitat and measured productivity in forest regeneration areas in the Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, and Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee, during 1997–1998. We located 82 territories and monitored 23 nests. Golden-winged Warblers occupied young stands with low basal area and annually mowed daylit roads (roads mowed wider than the track to facilitate drying), and nested in sites with high herbaceous density compared to unoccupied regeneration areas. Nest sites had fewer saplings and less canopy cover than the surrounding territory. Overall nest success was 72.5% and nests fledged an average of 3.65 young. Recently harvested forest stands (age ;le13 yr) with herbaceous cover on logging roads and log landings provided habitat capable of supporting Golden-winged Warbler reproduction at levels equal to or greater than productivity reported from other study sites across the range of this species.