Changes in bird populations on the Highlands Plateau, North Carolina (USA), 1946-1995, with emphasis on neotropical migrants

During the period 1993-1995, I repeated breeding bird censuses conducted by E.P. Odum in 1946-1947 and by me in 1959-1960 and 1971-1972, in intermediate-aged hemlock-hardwood, old-growth hemlock, and intermediate-aged hardwood forests on the Highlands Plateau of North Carolina. Results indicated that populations of Neotropical migrants in both intermediate-aged hemlock-hardwood and old-growth hemlock forests have declined significantly during the past half-century; less pronounced declines were evident in intermediate-aged hardwood forest. Short-distance migrants and permanent residents showed either no decline or an increase during this same period. Population increases were significant in the intermediate-aged hemlock-hardwood forest and were not significant in the old-growth hemlock forest and intermediate-aged hardwood forest sites. A marked increase in the golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa), a species of special concern in North Carolina, may reflect a southward extension of its breeding range during this study period.