Yellow Rail Habitat Model
go to: USFWS Gulf of Maine Watershed Habitat Analysis
go to: Species Table

Draft Date:
October 2002

Species:
Yellow rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis

Use of Study Area Resources:
Reproduction, migration: Yellow rails are widely distributed across most states in the the continental U.S. and Canadian provinces east of the Rockies (Bookhout 1995). Breeding is apparently 'local' across the northern tier of states in the the continental U.S., from North Dakota to Maine, and provinces from Nova Scotia to Alberta (Bookhout 1995). Other populations breed in eastern Asia and Mexico. They winter along the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast from North Carolina to Texas (Bookhout 1995). Known as a fall migrant in Massachusetts (Veit and Petersen 1993), and likely breeder in Maine (Gibbs and Melvin 1990).

Habitat Requirements:
Cover: The yellow rail is extremely secretive, moving about through dense vegetation more by walking and running than flying (Bookhout 1995). For breeding it prefers freshwater grass or sedge marshes and wet meadows, but also may use brackish wetlands, particularly the drier margins, that are dominated by Carex spp. (Van Dam et al. 1993, Bookhout 1995).  Invasion by shrubs, such as willow or birch, reduces habitat suitability of marshes (Bookhout 1995).  In coastal areas of Canada they use high salt marsh dominated by Carex and Eleocharis (Bookhout 1995). "Breeding sites can range from damp to 38 cm of water but the average depth used for nesting is 8 to 15 cm (Savaloja 1981)" (from Van Dam et al. 1993). During fall migration, will use many open habitats, from rice paddies to dry hayfields, dry grain fields, and wet meadows (Van Dam et al. 1993, Bookhout 1995).

"In Maine, found in damp, low-lying areas with water depths of 5 to 10 cm in otherwise dried-out portions of floodplains with a senescent mat composed of previous year's sedge growth (Gibbs et al. 1991). Habitats in Maine contained low densities of sedge, rush, and grass stems compared to other areas" (from Van Dam et al. 1993). Used sites were "large (> 400 ha) sedge and grass dominated floodplains adjacent to free-flowing, third- and fourth-order streams. The unimpounded nature of these streams results in extensive spring flooding and subsequent summer drying, which perhaps maintains the sedge- and grass-dominated plant communities favored by the yellow rail in Maine..." (from Van Dam et al. 1993).

Area: "The nesting areas should be at least eight ha for males to establish territories, which may overlap" (Van Dam et al. 1993).

Foraging: Yellow rails feed on snails, worms, spiders, insect adults and larvae, crustaceans, and seeds (Bookhout 1995).

Nest structure: "Built out of grass and sedges and lined with fine grass; ...supported five cm above water that is 5 to 10 cm deep" (Elliot and Morrison 1979 in Van Dam et al. 1993).

Management Concerns: "The major threats are nesting habitat destruction due to coastal development, natural succession, and wetland destruction. The breeding grounds are used for hay and pastures. Light agricultural use is beneficial, whereas intensive grazing removes needed cover" (Van Dam et al. 1993).

Model:
Occurrence information was obtained from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Biological & Conservation Database, from Gibbs and Melvin (1990), Veit and Petersen (1993), and Pierson et al. (1996).  Gibbs and Melvin observed rails regularly using sites during the breeding season (and also during spring migration); these were regarded as probable breeding habitats. The other locations were regarded as potential breeding locations if inland, otherwise as migration or dispersion habitats.

The range of probable breeding was bounded by USDA Forest Service Ecological subunits (Keys et al. 1995) encompassing the Gibbs and Melvin's sites. The range of potential breeding and that of migration use was bounded by Subunits surrounding the other yellow rail sightings. Habitats were mapped by scoring wetlands based on these ranges and on cover type (see table, below).

Seasonally flooded fresh marsh patches that were over 7 ha in area and within the probable breeding range were scored 1.0; smaller patches, but over 1 ha in area within this range were scored 0.4 as migration and dispersal cover.  Within the range encompassing potential breeding, patches over 7 ha were scored 0.5 and patches over 1 ha were scored 0.2.  Finally, estuarine high marsh patches over 1 ha in area, within either range, were scored 0.2 as migration cover.

NWI Designations (wetlands only)	Cover Types	Cover Suitability (0 - 1 scale)
		Probable Breeding Range	Potential Breeding Range
	Upland deciduous forest
	Upland coniferous forest
	Upland mixed forest
	Grassland
	Upland scrub/shrub
	Cultivated
	Developed
	Bare ground
PEM, L2EM	Lake/pond, emergent vegetation	1.0*, 0.4**	0.5*, 0.2**
PFOcon	Palustrine forest, conifer
PFOdec	Palustrine forest, deciduous
PSSdec	Palustrine scrub shrub, deciduous
PSScon	Palustrine scrub shrub, conifer
PAB, L2AB	Lake/pond, aquatic vegetation
L1UB, PUB	Lake/pond, unconsolidated bottom
L2US	Lake, unconsolidated shore
L2RS	Lake, rocky shore
R1UB	Riverine subtidal unconsolidated
Rper	Riverine perennial
E1AB	Estuarine subtidal vegetated
E1UB	Estuarine subtidal unconsolidated bottom
E2AB	Estuarine intertidal algae
E2EM	Estuarine intertidal emergent	0.2**	0.2**
E2RS, R1RS	Estuarine, tidal river rocky shore
E2SS	Estuarine intertidal shrub
E2US, R1US	Estuarine, riverine intertidal unconsolidated shore
M1AB	Marine subtidal vegetated
M1UB	Marine subtidal unconsolidated bottom
M2AB	Marine intertidal algae
M2RS	Marine intertidal rocky shore
M2US	Marine intertidal unconsolidated shore
NOTES	*score if over 7 ha in area **score if over 1 ha in area

Sources:

Bookhout, T.A. 1995. Yellow rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis. In A. Poole and F. Gill, (eds.) The Birds of North America, No. 139. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Gibbs, J.P and S.M. Melvin. 1990. An assessment of wading birds and other wetlands avifauna and their habitats in Maine. Report to Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Grants Program, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Bangor, ME. 61 pp.

Keys, J.E., Jr., J.C. Carpenter, S. Hooks, F. Koenig, W.H. McNab, W. Russell and W. Smith. 1995. Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (map and booklet of map unit tables), USDA Forest Service. Atlanta, GA.

Pierson, E.C., J E. Pierson, and P.D. Vickery. 1996. A Birders Guide to Maine. Down East Books, Camden, ME.

Van Dam, B., R. Jennings, J.D. Soule, G. Hammerson, M.T. Koenen, and D.W. Mehlman. 1993. Species Management Abstract: Yellow rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis). THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 2220; downloaded 10/01.

Veit, R.R. and W.R. Petersen. 1993. Birds of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Audubon Society. 514 p.