Riperian Corridor Birds

In many areas of Ohio where the former woodlands have been reduced to small isolated woodlots (usually no more than 10 to 50 acres), the forested stream corridors extend for miles in an unbroken band and provide a large percentage of the woodland habitats required by so many species. This is particularly true for many of Ohio's breeding bird species.

The presence or absence of key indicator species is one way to assess the quality of the riparian forests found along Ohio's scenic rivers.

Riperian Corridor Birds of Ohio

Carolina Chickadee (Parus carolinensis)

carolina chickadeePermanent resident

A common species in the southern two-thirds of Ohio replaced by the black-capped chickadee in the remainder of the state.

Chickadees inhabit a wide variety of wooded habitats including parks, cemeteries, suburban yards, fencelines and riparian corridors.

In riparian breeding bird counts conducted along Big Darby Creek, Carolina chickadees showed a strong preference for those wooded corridors which varied from 25 to 100 feet in width. Their numbers dropped significantly along Big Darby when corridor widths exceeded 100 feet on each bank or when the corridor width was less than 25 feet on each bank.