The use of nest departure calls for surveying Swamp Sparrows

Female Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) give a loud series of chips as they leave their nest during incubation and brooding. I tested the efficacy of basing breeding population surveys on the nest departure call (NDC). For a subset of point-count surveys designed to estimate the abundance and distribution of Swamp Sparrows in the coastal mid-Atlantic States, I surveyed singing males and (in a longer survey) the number of different females uttering NDCs. A set of 31 points was surveyed in early June and a subset of 21 in early July. The number of NDCs was well correlated with the number of singing males detected in the early season. The number of females giving NDCs was consistently smaller than the number of singing males. In part, this is because the detection distance for NDC is significantly shorter than for male song. However, even within a small fixed circular plot, more males were detected. Singing-male surveys provide more data over a shorter period of time and are appropriate for large-scale surveys. However, female NDCs provide an index of actual reproductive activity with no unmated birds included. Although a longer survey period is required, the surveys can be conducted throughout the day. It is suggested that female vocalizations related to nesting activity are more widespread than is generally appreciated and, when possible, should be used at least as complementary data to singing-male surveys.