Wood Thrush Quadrupled at this Hudson Valley Sanctuary

A stroll within the woods has a unique that means at Stand 13 on the Rheinstrom Hill Audubon Sanctuary – getting hit by branches is an indication of success! This stand used to have a extreme lack of biodiversity, little or no understory, and an invasion of Barberry. It was primarily unhealthy white pine and striped maple.

At the moment, the Wooden Thrush inhabitants has quadrupled, and the range of tree, shrub, and different plant species has tripled. Twenty-seven chook species have been detected that weren’t within the space earlier than.

Stand 13 appears to be like and sounds drastically completely different from the woods round it due to three bird-friendly forestry actions: In 2014-2015, a minimize was performed throughout the total 2.5-acre space, the invasive Barberry was handled so it couldn’t regenerate, and a seven-foot-tall deer fence was put in to guard all new development.

Due to this, no further vegetation wanted to be added. Time, solar, and safety from deer all created profitable circumstances for regrowth. Oak timber, hickory, maple, wild basil, grape, and wildflowers arose naturally from the seed financial institution (the pure storage of stay seeds hidden in leaf litter or inside the dust). A wholesome forest was simply ready to blow up again to life!

Like so lots of immediately’s northeastern forests, Stand 13 was round 50-90 years outdated, having grown again after the realm was cleared and utilized as farmland. Mr. Rheinstrom, the earlier proprietor, had partially replanted the property starting within the Thirties– however planting occurred abruptly, and principally in rows that had been too shut collectively. This meant there was an actual lack of age range and no understory.

When Audubon acquired the property within the Nineteen Nineties, it didn’t present appropriate habitat for a full suite of forest-breeding birds. With that aim in thoughts, we created a forest stewardship plan and commenced creating demonstration websites like Stand 13 to indicate how completely different bird-friendly forestry practices create wholesome habitat.

We conduct chook and vegetation surveys in any respect our demonstration websites twice a yr, on the identical precise factors inside the stand. As Stand 13 transitioned from clearing to younger forest to extra mature forest space, we surveyed Japanese Towhee, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ovenbirds, and Chestnut-sided Warblers, amongst others.

Surveys additionally confirmed that saplings contained in the fence grew 4 instances quicker than outdoors, invasive species stay negligible, and as said above, the Wooden Thrush inhabitants quadrupled! 

In 2024, ten years in, we took one last motion and eliminated the deer fence. Deer nonetheless keep away from the realm because of the density, as a result of they produce other simpler locations to forage.

Stand 13 is on a publicly-accessibly path on the Rheinstrom Hill Audubon Sanctuary in Hillsdale, NY. We welcome all guests year-round and advocate checking our event calendar for staff-led excursions of the forest demonstration websites.