US Forest Service
  
Treesearch

Pacific Southwest

 

US Forest Service
P.O. Box 96090
Washington, D.C.
20090-6090

(202) 205-8333

USA.gov  Government Made Easy

Publication Information

Title: Characteristics of nest trees and nest sites of California spotted owls in coniferous forests of the southern Sierra Nevada

Author: Steger, George N.; Munton, Thomas E.; Johnson, Kenneth D.; Eberlein, Gary E.

Date: 1997

Source: Transactions of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society, 30:30-3

Description: We described 86 nest sites of California spotted owl (Sh-ix occidentalis occrdentalzs) and tested for differences in vegetation structure at nest locations rn conifer-dominated stands in 2 study areas, the Sierra National Forest (SNF) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SNP), California. All nests were between 1061 and 2414 m in elevation, 52 were side-cavity nests, 18 topcavity nests, and 9 platform nests. All nests were in live trees (69) or snags (17): 41 in fir (Abies spp.), 17 in black oak (Quercus kelloggii), 14 in pine (Pinus spp.), and 14 in @ant sequoia (Sequoiadendron gzganteum). Nest trees had a mean diameter of 118.5 cm (SD = 32.1), except for giant sequoia whlch were much larger in diameter (462.9, SD = 144.5 cm). Pines were the only species where we detected a significant difference (P = 0.0001) in diameter of nest trees between study areas, with larger diameter nest trees located on the SNP. Nest sites were evenly distributed topographically, from near the ridge tops to the bottoms of drainages. Slopes and aspects at nest sites differed (P < 0.05) between study areas with the SNF having the greatest number of nests in the 0-10% slope class on north and west aspects, while the SNP had the greatest number in the 10- 20% slope class on east aspects. Nest sites in both study areas had dense canopy cover (89%) with multiple vegetative layers. Overall, nest site characteristics on the SNF and SNP were similar despite the long history of timber harvest on the SNF and the lack of harvest on SNP.

Keywords: California spotted owl, nest sites, nest structures, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, southern Sierra Nevada, Strix occidentalis

View and Print this Publication (954 KB)

Publication Notes: 

  • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
  • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

 [ Get Acrobat ]  Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Steger, George N.; Munton, Thomas E.; Johnson, Kenneth D.; Eberlein, Gary E.  1997.  Characteristics of nest trees and nest sites of California spotted owls in coniferous forests of the southern Sierra Nevada.   Transactions of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society, 30:30-3.

US Forest Service - Research & Development
Last Modified:  February 24, 2009


USDA logo which links to the department's national site. Forest Service logo which links to the agency's national site.