Mobile Aviary Design to Allow the Soft Release of Cavity Nesting Birds

摘要

Translocation of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) has been211u001ean important component in restoration efforts to establish new populations and 211u001eenlarge small populations. These efforts-relying on a hard release approach 211u001ewhereby the bird is captured, moved, and immediately released at the new site-211u001ehave met with mixed results. A mobile aviary has been designed with the 211u001eexpectation of improving translocation success for red-cockaded woodpeckers that 211u001ealso can be used for other cavity nesting birds with depleted populations. The 211u001emobile aviary allows a soft release, in which the bird is moved to the release 211u001esite and maintained there for a given period of time prior to release. While in 211u001ethe aviary, the individual can become accustomed to the release area, thus 211u001eincreasing the likelihood that it will remain there once released. The aviary 211u001econsists of a circular metal frame, approximately 5.1 meters (m) high and 4.7 m 211u001ein diameter, with hardware and shade cloth on the outside. It encompasses a 211u001eliving pine tree with a natural or artificial cavity in the trunk, to be used by 211u001ethe bird for nightly roosting. It has proved to be relatively inexpensive to 211u001econstruct, easily moved, and durable under a range of weather conditions. An 211u001eevaluation of the mobile aviary in terms of increasing translocation success for 211u001ethe red-cockaded woodpecker is underway at the Savannah River Site in South 211u001eCarolina.