Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
colonial waterbirds, data from randomly selected survey sites are being entered into the Avian Knowledge Network.
• Continued management of game lands and other conservation lands for successional habitats (particularly Longleaf Pine Savanna, herbaceous freshwater marsh, and high salt marsh) through fire and other disturbance methods appears to be vital to the continued persistence of many species (e.g., Bachman’s Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Prairie Warbler, Black Rail). Recent studies indicate that lands managed for conservation harbor the bulk of occurrences in North Carolina (Taillie et al. 2016, 2015) . Development of alternative habitat management practices suitable for both timber or pine straw management and nesting habitat for Bachman’s Sparrow may help expand the already contracted range of this species (Thistle 2022) . • Management of disturbance at Peregrine Falcon nest sites is accomplished through technical guidance to landowners and should continue. Examples of disturbance at a nest site include rock climbing, unoccupied aircraft operation (e.g., drone), helicopter, or fix- wing aircraft operation, and building construction near a nest site. • Where the Barn Owl and American Kestrel are nest-site limited, nest boxes can be posted. Land management practices that support rodent populations provide foraging habitat for these two raptors. • Restoration of high-elevation forests used by Northern Saw-whet Owl, Red Crossbill, and Black-capped Chickadee is underway through the efforts of the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative and should continue. • Monocultures of nonnative, invasive species (NNIS) such as Japanese stilt grass are unsuitable for species that nest on or near the ground. Kentucky Warbler, for example, requires a dense but heterogeneous woody understory. There is a need to control or eradicate NNIS that form monocultures, particularly in vulnerable floodplain forest. Furthermore, projects that introduce disturbance to closed canopy forest should carefully consider the risk of introducing or encouraging the spread of NNIS. 3.3.6 Threats and Problems Chapter 5 describes 11 categories of threats the Bird Taxa Team considered during evaluation and ranking process to identify SGCN. Evaluation results for Metric 9 about the expected scope and severity of these threats are available in Appendix 5, as noted below. The most likely threats to have very high impacts on bird populations in North Carolina over the next 10 years include the following:
• Climate change and severe weather (see Appendix 5, Table 5.12-1) • Natural system modifications (see Appendix 5, Table 5.9-1)
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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