Prothonotary Warbler Reproductive Success and Site Fidelity in a Fragmented Oklahoma Landscape
ABSTRACT
We studied site fidelity of Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in a fragmented riparian landscape from 2003 to 2005. Adult and nestling warblers were mist-netted or captured at the nest site during three breeding seasons at the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in southern Oklahoma. We banded 127 adult Prothonotary Warblers (57 males; 70 females) and 456 nestlings for a total of 583 warblers banded. We recorded 83 recaptures of 50 different warblers for an overall recapture rate of 8.6%. Forty-one of the 127 adult warblers originally banded were recaptured for an adult recapture rate of 32%. Nine of the 456 nestling warblers originally banded were recaptured as adults for a 2% recapture rate. Recaptured Prothonotary Warblers relocated an average of 312 m from the previous year's nest sites and relocated an average of 271 m from the first nest attempt to the second nest attempt within breeding seasons. Recaptured female warblers averaged a total of 2. 7 nest attempts and 8.8 fledglings produced over their capture/recapture history. Recaptured males averaged 1.8 nest attempts and 7.5 fledglings produced over their capture/recapture history. Male and female Prothonotary Warblers demonstrated strong site fidelity and high reproductive success in a fragmented riparian landscape.
