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Many avian species are behaviorally-plastic in selecting nest sites, and may shift to new locations or habitats following an unsuccessful breeding attempt. If there is predictable spatial variation in predation risk, the process of many individuals using prior experience to adaptively change nest sites may scale up to create shifting patterns of nest density at a population level. We used 18 years of waterfowl nesting data to assess whether there were areas of consistently high or low predation risk, and whether low-risk areas increased, and high-risk areas decreased in nest density the following year. We created kernel density maps of successful and unsuccessful nests in consecutive years and found no correlation in predation risk and no evidence for adaptive shifts, although nest density was correlated between years. We also examined between-year correlations in nest density and nest success at three smaller spatial scales: individual nesting fields (10–28 ha), 16-ha grid cells and 4-ha grid cells. Here, results were similar across all scales: we found no evidence for year-to-year correlation in nest success but found strong evidence that nest density was correlated between years, and areas of high nest success increased in nest density the following year. Prior research in this system has demonstrated that areas of high nest density have higher nest success, and taken together, our results suggest that ducks may adaptively select nest sites based on the local density of conspecifics, rather than the physical location of last year’s nest. In unpredictable environments, current cues, such as the presence of active conspecific nests, may be especially useful in selecting nest sites. The cues birds use to select breeding locations and successfully avoid predators deserve continued attention, especially in systems of conservation concern.

Extreme changes to key waterfowl habitats in the Klamath Basin (KB) on the Oregon–California border and the Sacramento Valley (SV) in California, USA, have occurred since 1980. The spatial distribution of Pacific greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons sponsa; geese) has likewise changed among these areas and population size has grown from 79,000 to >600,000 geese during the same period. To assess the effects of landscape changes and spatial-temporal distribution of geese, we collected Pacific greater white-fronted geese during winters of 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 in the KB and SV and compared their body condition to geese collected during 1979–1980 and 1980–1981. We modeled body and lipid mass to assess body condition for each sex independently and examined the influence of collection day, year, and region. Body condition of geese varied throughout the winter and within years in a nonlinear fashion. We detected an increase in body condition in both sexes during December and January in the SV, which corresponds with improved habitat conditions and increases seen in other species in the region. Body condition upon arrival in fall migration varied by year for females and by year and region for males. Males and females arrived in poorer body condition during 2010–2011 than all other study years and males in the KB during 2010–2011 had extremely low lipid mass, reflecting poor regional habitat conditions induced by drought. Body condition of females varied over spring, by year, and by region and regional effects were evident for males. Body condition was significantly higher for geese in the SV than in the KB during spring. Our results suggest that Pacific greater white-fronted geese have adapted to a changing landscape and have adjusted historical spatial use patterns to take advantage of more favorable conditions in the SV between 1979 and 2010.

American woodcock (Scolopax minor; woodcock) migratory connectivity (i.e., association between breeding and wintering areas) is largely unknown, even though current woodcock management is predicated on such associations. Woodcock are currently managed in the Eastern and Central management regions in the United States with the boundary between management regions analogous to the boundary between the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways, based largely on analysis of band returns from hunters. Factors during migration influence survival and fitness, and existing data derived from banding and very high frequency telemetry provide only coarse-scale information to assess factors influencing woodcock migratory movement patterns and behavior. To assess whether current management-region boundaries correspond with woodcock migratory connectivity in the Central Management Region and to describe migration patterns with higher resolution than has been previously possible, we deployed satellite transmitters on 73 woodcock (25 adult and 28 juvenile females, and 8 adult and 12 juvenile males) and recorded 87 autumn or spring migration paths from 2014 to 2016. Marked woodcock used 2 primary migrations routes: a Western Route and a Central Route. The Western Route ran north-south, connecting the breeding and wintering grounds within the Central Management Region. The hourglass-shaped Central Route connected an area on the wintering grounds reaching from Texas to Florida, to sites throughout northeastern North America in both the Eastern Management Region and Central Management Region and woodcock following this route migrated through the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley in western Tennessee during autumn and spring. Two of 17 woodcock captured associated with breeding areas in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota migrated to wintering sites in the Eastern Management Region and 12 marked woodcock captured on wintering areas in Texas and Louisiana migrated to breeding sites in the Eastern Management Region. Woodcock that used the Western Route exhibited high concentrations of stopovers during spring in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains and northern Missouri, and along the Mississippi River on the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and autumn concentrations of stopovers in southwestern Iowa, central Missouri, the Arkansas portion of the Ozark Mountains, and around the junction of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Woodcock that used the Central Route exhibited high concentrations of stopovers during spring in northern Mississippi through western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and the Missouri Bootheel, and autumn concentrations of stopovers in northern Illinois, southwestern Ohio, and the portions of Kentucky and Tennessee west of the Appalachian Mountains. We suggest that current management of woodcock based on 2 management regions may not be consistent with the apparent lack of strong migratory connectivity we observed. Our results also suggest where management of migration habitat might be most beneficial to woodcock.

The White-tipped Dove (Leptotilaverreauxi) is an understudied, secretive, game species in south Texas. We banded White-tipped Doves over a 2-year period in Estero Llano Grande State Park (ELGSP) near Weslaco, Texas. We used recent banding information to estimate the first annual survival and recovery rate information for this species in the United States. We collected morphological measurements of captured individuals in June and July 2015 and 2016. We documented a new longevity record for the species in 2016. The individual was a minimum of 9 years and 1 month at encounter as it was first banded in ELGSP in 2008 as an afterhatch-year individual. Our morphological measurements were within the range reported in previous studies. Preliminary annual survival estimates indicate higher annual survival than other Columbidae and low recovery rates.

The White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi) is an understudied, secretive, game species in south Texas. We banded White-tipped Doves over a 2-year period in Estero Llano Grande State Park (ELGSP) near Weslaco, Texas. We used recent banding information to estimate the first annual survival and recovery rate information for this species in the United States. We collected morphological measurements of captured individuals in June and July 2015 and 2016. We documented a new longevity record for the species in 2016. The individual was a minimum of 9 years and 1 month at encounter as it was first banded in ELGSP in 2008 as an after-hatch-year individual. Our morphological measurements were within the range reported in previous studies. Preliminary annual survival estimates indicate higher annual survival than other Columbidae and low recovery rates. Received 10 July 2017. Accepted 14 September 2018.

Recent technological developments in video surveillance help shed light on the behavior and ecology of nesting birds. There is little information regarding breeding ecology of white-tipped doves (Leptotilaverreauxi), an elusive gamebird in southern Texas. Our objective was to describe parental attendance during the nesting season. We located nests in citrus groves and remnant woodlands. We used video camera systems to monitor parental behavior at the nest. We sampled video to establish time budgets for 13 nests, including 9 that reached the nestling stage. White-tipped doves take part in continual nest attendance, except for brief periods when the parents switch nesting duties. Female white-tipped doves attend the nest during the night and into the morning hours, when the male relieves her. The female forages throughout the day and returns in the evening, trading places with the male. White-tipped dove parental behavior was consistent with other columbid species.