Young clearcuts are an example of early successional forests that occur during the first few years after a disturbance. Group selection removes small groups of trees in openings less than two acres, and single-tree selection limits removal to individual tress scattered throughout the forest. The study also included two less-intensive harvest methods that leave more trees. The study included two intensive methods that remove most of the trees, namely clearcutting, which removes most or all of the mature trees, and shelterwood harvest, which leaves 20 to 40 of the largest trees per acre. Our goal with this study was to determine how different timber harvest methods affected early successional birds over a 17-year period. Our survey that day was part of a large-scale, long-term research project initiated in 1992 to evaluate the ecological effects of four different timber harvest methods. I told him it takes a lot of practice to monitor so many birds at once, so I concentrate on one species at a time, counting how many I hear and noting the direction of each call. When we got to our final point and began tallying birds, the student, who had no previous survey experience, remarked that he was overwhelmed with the numerous calls and songs from birds all around him. We followed the trail into a young, open clearcut and made our way through the thicket of brush, thorns and tangled vines typically found in these young forest stands.

Our routine was to stop for 10 minutes and record the species − an ovenbird ( Seiurus aurocapilla) off in the distance, a few pine warblers ( Setophaga pinus) and an occasional tufted titmouse ( Baeolophus bicolor). The dense tree canopy obstructed much of our view, so we identified the birds by their songs and calls. We were conducting a spring bird survey, stopping and counting birds at marked points along the trail. I had been walking with a graduate student through second-growth, mature pine forests in the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas since sunrise. The common yellowthroat, an early successional bird species, is often found in recent timber harvests.

Early bird late bird