Spring Passage and Arrival Patterns of American Redstarts in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2009

Department

Biological Sciences

School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Abstract

We examined the pattern of American Redstarts (Setophagus ruticilla) migrating through and arriving in breeding areas in northern Michigan to evaluate factors that may influence arrival of redstarts. Variation in arrival schedules coincided with variation in endogenous and low resource abundance as compared to years in which environmental conditions during the arrival period were more benign. Further, males verified as breeding at our site arrived 2 to 4 days before breeding females while males classified as migrants preceded migrant females by 4 days. Finally, older birds preceded younger for both verified breeders (7 days) and migrants (6 days). These findings demonstrate behavioral plasticity within the constraints of optimal migration theory which places high value on early arrival in breeding areas. Our results suggest that some species of long-distance migrants may adjust spring migration rates in response to environmental conditions.

Publication Title

Wilson Journal of Ornithology

Volume

121

Issue

2

First Page

290

Last Page

297

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