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369 
TABLE 1. Five most common species banded by site 
and total recaptures for each species at two high elevation 
migration banding stations in Tennessee. USA, 
Tola) species captured = 7-1 
Whigg Meadow (1999-2008) 
Tola) captured 
Number of intomnnual 
recaptures 
Tennessee Warbler 
Oreothlypis peregrina 
4,324 
14 
Swainson's Thrush 
Catliarus ustulaius 
855 
0 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 
Selophaga caerulescens 
795 
0 
Dark-eyed Junco 
Junco hxemalis 
780 
0 
Ovenbird 
Seiurws aurocapilla 
437 
0 
Total species captured = 80 
Big Bald (200.V2008) 
Total captured 
Number of inter-annual 
recaptures 
Tennessee Warbler 
5,541 
0 
Swainson's Thrush 
2,484 
0 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 
1,631 
0 
Cape May Warbler 
Selophaga tigrina 
674 
1 
Ovenbird 
587 
0 
routes it could be expected that some individuals 
would show up repeatedly between years at some 
stopover locations. The low incidence of stopover 
site fidelity bv most passerines may reflect their 
flexibility in selecting migratory routes (Catty et 
al. 2004). For instance, wind conditions during 
migration may cause migrating passerines to drift 
from their intended path. Adjusting for this drift 
might require additional energy, which may 
exceed the benefits of returning to a familiar 
stopover location during some years. Despite 
potential limitations to passerine stopover site 
fidelity, the high incidence of inter-annual recap¬ 
tures of Tennessee Warblers at Whigg Meadow 
could provide evidence of a specific migratory 
route over the southern Appalachian Mountains 
lor this species. 
Most migration banding stations along coastal 
and inland migration pathways in North America 
report fewer captures of Tennessee Warblers than 
reported here (J. Woodcock, R. Keith, and E. 
Soehren; pers. comm.). Our data highlight the 
southern Appalachian Mountains as an important 
migratory route for this species (Rimmer and 
McFarland 1998). Research addressing the role of 
-southern Appalachian habitats, such as high 
elevation balds and adjacent scrub forest, in 
supporting songbird migration is needed. The 
placement of additional migratory monitoring 
stations, coupled with passive monitoring tech¬ 
niques such as acoustic monitoring arrays (Blum- 
stein et al. 2011) could provide more information 
on the importance of these stopover locations. 
The between-year recaptures of 14 Tennessee 
Warblers at Whigg Meadow provides additional 
evidence that some individuals of this species 
exhibit stopover site fidelity. These findings 
require interpretation of the suite of factors that 
shape this behavior in this and other migratory 
passerine species. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
This research was made possible through the assistance 
of numerous volunteers. Funding anti logistical support was 
provided by the USDA Forest Service. Cherokee National 
Forest and a Katherine A. Goodpasture Award from the 
Tennessee Ornithological Society. We are indebted to Scott 
Somershoe and two anonymous reviewers for comments 
provided on earlier drafts of this manuscript. 
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