BIRDS OF THE ST. CROIX RIVER VALLEY 



11 



Louisiana waterthrush*, northern oriole*, scarlet tanager*, and rose- 

 breasted grosbeak. 



Southern Deciduous Forest 



This habitat type includes a closed-canopy upland community that is gen- 

 erally restricted to the region south of the Tension Zone in the Western 

 Upland and Central Plain. Southern Deciduous Forest occurs almost exclu- 

 sively on dry, well-drained upland sites. Before settlement of this region. 

 Southern Deciduous Forest existed as part of an oak forest intermixed with 

 prairie giving the area aspects of a savannah. Currently, stands of Southern 

 Deciduous Forest are primarily restricted to bluff tops and edges adjacent 

 to the St. Croix River and in scattered farm woodlots, which are usually 

 heavily grazed. 



Important component trees in this community include red oak, white oak. 

 Hill's oak, and bur oak. In more mesic sites, large-toothed aspen, sugar 

 maple, basswood, and white ash become important. Shrubs indicative of this 

 community include black cherry, common elder, gray dogwood, and hazel- 

 nut. Prevalent ground layer vegetation includes dogbane, wild sarsaparilla, 

 rattlesnake fern, tick trefoil, Virginia strawberry, northern bedstraw, wild 

 cranesbill, Jacob's ladder, sweet cicely, wild lettuce, false Solomon's seal, 

 Solomon's seal, wild leek, blue cohosh, goosegrass, bloodroot, large-flowered 

 triUium, and Pennsylvania sedge. 



Very few breeding bird species are restricted to or reach their greatest 

 density in the Southern Deciduous Forest in the Valley. Principal breeding 

 species include Cooper's hawk, red-tailed hawk, ruffed grouse, great horned 

 owl, whip-poor-will, common flicker, red-headed woodpecker*, hairy wood- 

 pecker, great crested flycatcher, eastern wood pewee, blue jay, common 

 crow, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, house wren, brown 

 thrasher*, American robin, yellow-throated vireo, ovenbird, American red- 

 start, scarlet tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting, rufous-sided 

 towhee, vesper sparrow (in openings), and field sparrow (in openings). 



Deciduous Clear Cuts 



A major principle of wildhfe management is the provision of a multitude of 

 habitats in various successional stages. Suppression of wildfires and the tre- 

 mendous reduction of logging that occurred after settlement of the Valley 

 were responsible for allowing many upland sites to return to near climax 

 conditions. Northern Hardwood Forest, dominated primarily by sugar 

 maple and basswood, rapidly becomes prevalent in northern forests that are 

 not managed. Although the mature hardwood forest is a primary habitat for 

 several breeding birds, the lack of early successional stages creates a situa- 

 tion that is relatively unattractive to a number of other species. 



Within the last 15 years, foresters and wildhfe managers have taken steps 

 to retard succession in several upland forest types. These management prac- 

 tices have been highly successful in providing a variety of successional stage 

 forests and several age classes. Providing a variety of age classes has pro- 

 duced significant beneficial effects for many woodland breeding birds. The 

 primary methods used to accompUsh these practices are clear-cutting and 

 selective cutting. 



