Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
Atlantic Coast Joint Venture Black Rail Conservation Plan (ACJV 2020) stress the need to facilitate the migration of high salt-marsh landward and to create and restore non-tidal herbaceous marsh, including in non-tidal impoundments near existing breeding habitat. This will likely benefit all marsh bird and wading bird SGCN. Considerable knowledge gaps exist regarding this habitat creation and restoration in North Carolina. • Among raptors, there is need for further study of Barn Owl’s, American Kestrel’s, and Peregrine Falcon’s post-fledging dispersal, adult and juvenile survival, migratory habits, and vulnerability to contaminants. Very little is known about the abundance and distribution of several of North Carolina's raptor species. • There is a need for further study of the Barn Owl’s, American Kestrel’s, and Northern Saw- whet Owl’s use of habitat and population trends and of Golden Eagle winter abundance and distribution. Several birds listed as knowledge gap priority species have been added to a PIF Watch List, list of Common Birds in Steep Decline, or the Road to Recovery’s list of Tipping Point species. These include Black-billed Cuckoo, Kentucky Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, and others. While it is assumed that habitats throughout North Carolina are likely to be significant to species that migrate through, the importance of these habitats has yet to be determined, making prioritization of habitat conservation, especially in the rapidly urbanizing Piedmont, difficult. More effort into monitoring migrating and post-breeding songbirds is warranted. There is a lack of understanding of predator communities and the increase of many species found along the coastline (e.g., Ghost Crabs, large gulls, Raccoons, foxes, Coyotes) and about the effect they are having on coastal bird populations. However, species-specific vulnerability is unknown, as is their overall impact of predators to bird populations. 3.3.5 Management Needs Bird populations are affected by human activities, predator populations, and habitat characteristics. These factors are not independent from one another, thus, management actions on one are likely to affect another and this interaction must be understood. Depending on species, timing, type of disturbance, and habituation to human activities, many shorebirds and colonial waterbirds are sensitive to disturbance from human-related activities ( Erwin 2005; Meyers 2005) . Many of the colonial waterbirds found in North Carolina that are SGCN are also management-need priority species. Posting nesting areas with symbolic fencing, which consists of informative signs placed 50 meters apart with string tied between posts, reduces disturbance to nesting colonies by recreationists (Erwin 1989) . The addition of education and outreach programs during the nesting season and enforcement of leash and trespass laws provide greater protection.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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