Partners in Flight

Bird Conservation Plan

for the

Mississippi Alluvial Valley

(Physiographic Area # 05)

Version 1.0

September 1999

Written by: Daniel Twedt, David Pashley, Chuck Hunter, Allen Mueller, Cindy Brown, and Bob Ford

Address comments to:

Bob Ford, c/o U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Memphis, South Campus, Bldg 8, Memphis, TN 38152

901-327-1752; fax 901-327-8001; bford@tnc.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plans are living documents that are periodically updated and improved as knowledge of bird management and conservation in the physiographic area is improved. Thus the first public draft of this Bird Conservation Plan is Version 1.0. This Plan will remain a work in progress, we encourage those who wish to contribute to do so.

The following individuals participated in drafting or revision of this conservation plan: S. Ray Aycock, Charles K. Baxter, Cindy Brown, Robert J. Cooper, Lisa Creasman, Tom Foti, Robert P. Ford, Paul B. Hamel, Bob Hatcher, Doug Helmers, W. C. (Chuck) Hunter, Brad Jacobs, Sunni Lawless, Charles R. Loesch, Curt McMurl, Seth E. Moth, Allen J. Mueller, Gary Myers, David N. Pashley, Lance Peacock, Terry Rich, Karen Rowe, Janet Ruth, Jon Schneider, Mike Staten, Mark Swan, Daniel J. Twedt, William B. Uihlein, Bill Vermillion, Mark S. Woodrey, and Scott C. Yaich.

§ TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• SECTION 1: THE PLANNING UNIT

o Background

o Conservation issues

o Conservation opportunities

• SECTION 2: AVIFAUNAL ANALYSIS

• Species prioritization
• Conservation area size considerations
• Minimum viable population and source populations

• SECTION 3: HABITATS AND OBJECTIVES

o Forested wetlands, bottomland hardwood forests

• Status and importance
• Priority species, species suites, and habitat requirements
• Habitat and population objectives
• Implementation recommendations and opportunities
• Evaluation of assumption

o Forest Openings, Edges, Early-Successional Shrub-Scrub

• Status and importance
• Priority species, species suites, and habitat requirements
• Habitat and population objectives
• Implementation recommendations and opportunities
• Evaluation of assumptions

o Upland Oak-Hickory Hardwoods

• Status and importance
• Priority bird species, species suites, and habitat requirements
• Habitat and population objectives
• Implementation recommendations and opportunities.
• Evaluation of assumptions.

o Grasslands/Savannas, Pastures, and Associated Wetlands.

• Status and importance.
• Priority species, species suites, and habitat requirements.
• Habitat and population objectives.
• Implementation recommendations and opportunities.
• Evaluation of assumptions.

o Lacustrine (open-water) Wetlands, Palustrine (emergent) Wetlands, and Mudflats.

• Status and importance.
• Priority species, species suites, and habitat requirements.
• Habitat and population objectives.
• Implementation recommendations and opportunities.
• Evaluation of assumptions.
• Urban, Suburban backyards, Rural Woodlots.
• SECTION 4: IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY.
• Summary of habitats, bird species suites, and goal statements.
• LITERATURE CITED

• Table 1. Native habitats and current land use of physiographic provinces within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 2. Hydrologic units within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 3. Priority bird species.
• Table 4. Hypothesized forest area (hectares) required to support viable populations of 500 breeding birds within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 5. Area of bottomland hardwood forest types.
• Table 6. Habitat objectives for predominately mature, forested wetlands.
• Table 7. Area in hectares of forested habitat within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 8. Area of shrub/scrub and grassland habitats (in hectares) within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 9. Area of upland forest (in hectares) on ridges within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 10. Twenty-five years (1966-1991) of Breeding Bird Survey population trends.
• Table 11. Shorebird species, average mass, and hypothesized abundance during southward migration through the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
• Table 12. Proposed distribution of managed foraging habitat for shorebirds.
• Figure 1. Mississippi Alluvial Valley physiographic province.
• Figure 2. Bottomland hardwood forest habitat patch objectives.
• Figure 3. Proposed balance sheet to be used to track progress toward shorebird foraging-habitat objectives
• Appendix 1. Tree species
• Appendix 2. Breeding bird species priorities, percent of population (PP), area's importance (AI), population trend (PT), and typical habitat
• Appendix 3. Methodology used to establish foraging habitat objectives for shorebirds
• Appendix 4. Qualitative Characterization of Bird Conservation Areas in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
• Appendix 5.