Comparison of wood stork foraging success and behavior
in selected tidal and non-tidal habitats
F. Chris Depkin,1 Laura K. Estep,1, 2 A. Lawrence
Bryan, Jr.,1, 3 Carol S. Eldridge,1 and I Lehr Brisbin,
Jr.1
Abstract
In 1999, we compared foraging success rates (captures/min) and foraging
behaviors of Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) at tidal (Georgia)
and non-tidal freshwater (South Carolina) foraging sites. Foraging success
rates were 30 times greater at the tidal site, but storks foraging in
tidal areas only fed at low tide, which limited their foraging time at
that site. On-site behaviors indicated the window of prey availability.
Storks at the tidal site engaged almost exclusively in foraging behaviors,
whereas storks at the non-tidal site devoted more time to other, non-foraging
behaviors (e.g., preening, resting). The greater foraging success rate
associated with the tidal site suggests that salt marsh/tidal creek habitats
are high-quality foraging areas.
1Savannah River Ecology Lab., P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802,
USA
2Current address: Dept. of Epidemiology and Public Health,
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 05620, USA
3Corresponding author; E-mail: bryan@srel.edu.
SREL Reprint #2908
Depkin, F.
C., L. K. Estep, A. L. Bryan, Jr., C. S. Eldridge and I. L. Brisbin, Jr.
2005. Comparison of wood stork foraging success and behavior in selected
tidal and non-tidal habitats. The Wilson Bulletin 117:386-389.
