Distribution of breeding songbirds in Bradfield Woods, Suffolk, in relation to vegetation and coppice management

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Abstract
Distribution and abundance of breeding birds were examined in 62 ha of ancient, actively coppiced, woodland in relation to vegetation and age of the coppice. The composition of bird communities in coppice of 3–8 years of growth was distinctly different to that in other ages of coppice. Most warblers, Nightingale and Dunnock strongly selected coppice < 10 years. No species selected older coppice. Migrant songbird species were almost entirely associated with coppice < 10 years. Total density of songbirds was lowest in very young (< 3 years) and old coppice (> 11 years). Most of these distribution patterns were best explained by variations in the density of the shrub layer or by a combination of relatively low tree height yet high canopy cover. At the scale of the entire wood there was little evidence that tree species composition affected bird distribution. However, within young (3–8 years) and within old (10–30 years) coppice there was evidence of tree species effects. It is argued that subtle patterns in woodland bird communities will be masked by responses of birds to large variation in habitat structure; this aspect of scale is rarely considered in the design or interpretation of studies of bird-habitat relationships.