The Bird Population of a Transmission Right-Of-Way Maintained by Herbicides

Abstract

A census was made of the bird population on an electric transmission right-of-way (ROW) and the adjoining forest in central Pennsylvania in July, 1982. The ROW had been maintained for 30 years by herbicide sprays with handcutting as a control. A large and diverse bird population of 31 species, which averaged 6.4 birds per hectare per census day, had developed on the ROW. The common species were typical of shrublands and open areas. In the adjoining forest, an average of 3.4 birds per hectare were counted per day; and the population contained 27 species. There was no significant difference at the 0.05 level between the number of birds on handcut- and herbicide-maintained ROW areas; the number of birds was significantly less in the forest than on the ROW. Immature birds made up 8% of the total ROW count.