Greetings all,

I figured I'd throw in a couple of cents on this thread, since I just wrote 
the Prairie Warbler account for the VT atlas. As Kent said, the species 
increased between atlases, being recorded in almost twice as many priority 
blocks the second time around - the opposite pattern shown in other 
shrubland birds. This slight increase along the northern edge of the range 
was also shown in the second NY atlas, and is evident in a few NH data sets 
as well. At the same time, however, Breeding Bird Survey data show a 
significant DECLINE over most of the Northeast. Are Prairies moving north 
with climate change?

Pam Hunt
Penacook, NH

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kent McFarland" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 7:30 AM
Subject: Re: [UVB] Prairie Warbler


> Prairie Warblers breed in brushlands. When all the farms were let go years
> ago and the fields were growing back to forest there was a lot of 
> brushland
> for a period and so more of them (them = four letter code for Prairie
> Warbler) around Woodstock. They were never very common, but they were a 
> lot
> easier to find before in Woodstock. They use to be a regular at the
> Woodstock Gun Club range for example and even at the old VINS Bragdon
> Preserve. But, each of those continued to grow past the shrub stage and 
> they
> are no longer there. I looked at the breeding bird survey maps from first
> atlas vs second atlas real quickly and they were pretty rare in both time
> periods as breeders. Interestingly, they were found on more priority 
> blocks
> in the last atlas than the first. But here in Woodstock and probably other
> areas of this county, they are less common. It looks like over in the 
> valley
> they were more common in this last atlas.
>

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