Life Sciences Commons^™

Bird Species And Abundances In Fruit Crops And Implications For Bird Management, Melissa B. Hanney, Jason R. Boulanger, Paul D. Curtis, Rachael A. Eaton, Benjamin C. Hawes, Deanna K. Leigh, Cody A. Rossetti, Karen M. M. Sttensma, Catherine A. Lindell

Biology Faculty Publications

Fruit consumption by birds is a costly problem in North America, yet basic information about the species and abundance of fruit-eating birds in fruit crops, and factors that influence abundance, are lacking. We conducted a study of fruit-eating birds in 'Honeycrisp' apples, blueberries, grapes, and sweet cherries in Michigan, New York, and the Pacific Northwest in 2012 and 2013. We documented the most frequently observed fruit-eating birds in each crop across our study regions, and used fruit-consumption data to identify bird species for each crop and region that have a great impact via fruit consumption. We found that American Robins …