A Comparison of Yellow Rail Habitats in Southeastern Oklahoma and Costal Texas

Abstract

Yellow Rails (Coturnicops noveboracensis) typically use wet meadows near the Gulf Coast of Texas and other southern states in both inland and salt marsh habitats during the non-breeding season. Yellow Rails have been observed wintering in southeastern Oklahoma for at least a decade and during 2008/2009 the density was comparable to the density in Texas. However, the population crashed after 2010, and there have been 92.5% fewer Yellow Rails found annually at Red Slough WMA in McCurtain County from 2011 to 2018. In contrast, no changes in populations wintering along the Gulf Coast have been reported. Changes in habitat suitability due to succession are the suspected cause. We took vegetation measurements under the BBIRD grassland bird sampling protocol at several of these sites and compared the results to measurements taken in Texas. The presence of Yellow Rails in Oklahoma and Texas was positively correlated with the number of stems at 10, 20, and 30 cm as well as the amount of green cover. However, fields in Texas with Yellow Rails had significantly more stems at 20 and 30 cm in Oklahoma. We suspect that the decline in rails wintering in Oklahoma may be linked to changes in the number of stems at 20 and 30 cm. We propose adopting a more intensive habitat management plan for certain sites at Red Slough with the goal of restoring the habitat to something similar to freshwater sites in Texas.