Freshwater Biodiversity Toolbox

Habitat Creation – Creation of Bird Nest Sites/Boxes

Birds use a diverse array of habitats for nesting sites such as tree cavities, burrows on the ground, or nearby aquatic environments. Habitat degradation by anthropogenic disturbance has limited the availability and quality of these sites. Lack of appropriate nesting areas harms populations and reproductive success for many bird species. Conservation actions reviewed include the creation of artificial cavities and nests to mimic natural nesting sites.

Rating:
Wiebe (2011) had low CEESAT scores across all elements except where they precisely defined their eligibility criteria. Wiebe (2011) scored Gold in all but two RASCAT categories; most species reviewed were not endemic to Canada and the synthesis failed to demonstrate consideration of implications, practical advice, or recommendations for decision-makers.

Wiebe, K.L. (2011)

Nest sites as limiting resources for cavity‐nesting birds in mature forest ecosystems: a review of the evidence

Title: Nest sites as limiting resources for cavity‐nesting birds in mature forest ecosystems: a review of the evidence

Authors: Wiebe, K.L.

Journal: Journal of Field Ornithology

Year: 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1557-9263.2011.00327.x

Species or groups: Cavity-nesting birds

Other sources of evidence: https://www.conservationevidence.com/actions/482

Abstract: Assumptions that populations of cavity-nesting birds are limited by access to nest sites have largely been based on anecdotal reports or correlative data. Nest-box-addition experiments or tree-cavity-blocking experiments are potentially rigorous ways to investigate how densities of breeding birds are affected by access to nest cavities. Experimental evidence indicates that natural tree holes are limited in human-altered landscapes, but the possibility that cavity nests are limited in old growth (unmanaged) forests is less clear. I reviewed 31 nest-cavityremoval or addition experiments conducted with 20 species of cavity-nesting birds in mature forests. Of these 31 experiments conducted with a variety of different species of birds, only 19% reported statistically significant changes in breeding densities. However, none of these studies included data about the reproductive history of individuals colonizing the boxes (i.e., whether birds using the boxes would have otherwise been floaters or that birds excluded from blocked cavities on the plots did not simply move elsewhere), so they provided no strong evidence that the number of breeding pairs was limited by availability of nest sites at the population scale. Although some studies indicate that nest sites are limited at local (plot) scales in old growth forests, there is still little empirical evidence for nest-site limitation at the population- and landscape-level in mature, unmanaged forests. I review the challenges in designing and interpreting box-addition experiments and highlight the main gaps in knowledge that should be targeted in the future.

Freshwater Biodiversity Toolbox

Habitat Creation – Creation of Bird Nest Sites/Boxes

Wiebe, K.L. (2011)

Assessment of reliability and robustness (CEESAT)

Assessment of relevance to Canada (RASCAT)

Other Interventions

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Fencing of Farm Animals

Agricultural Run-off Control

Bycatch Reduction – Fish

Bycatch Reduction – Turtles

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Article

Freshwater Biodiversity Toolbox

Habitat Creation – Creation of Bird Nest Sites/Boxes

Wiebe, K.L. (2011)

Assessment of reliability and robustness (CEESAT)

Assessment of relevance to Canada (RASCAT)

Other Interventions

Find other Interventions

Fencing of Farm Animals

Agricultural Run-off Control

Bycatch Reduction – Fish

Bycatch Reduction – Turtles

Find other Interventions