Published by the Wilson Ornithological Society VOL. 126, NO. 4 December 2014 PAGES 623–832 The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 126(4):623–634, 2014 LONG-TERM DYNAMICS OF BIRD USE OF CLEARCUTS IN POST-FLEDGING PERIOD PAUL A. PORNELUZI, 1,5 RAFAEL BRITO-AGUILAR, 2 RICHARD L. CLAWSON, 3 AND JOHN FAABORG 4 ABSTRACT.—We focus on bird use of clearcuts resulting from even-aged management as part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP). The long-term nature of MOFEP allows us to present a 15-year monitoring of bird use of MOFEP clearcuts in July using constant effort mist-netting. This provides insight into the dynamics of forest bird use of clearcuts during the post-fledging period for both early succession and mature forest breeding birds. We operated nets ,10,080 hrs and captured 4,711 individuals, with 2,718 individuals considered mature forest breeding birds, and 1,993 individuals considered early succession species. There were few birds occupying clearcuts in year 1, immediately after cutting. Mean captures of all species as a group showed a significant curvilinear trend over time with an early peak in year 3 to 4 followed by decline. Mean captures of early succession species showed a significant trend of an early peak in year 3 followed by steady decline. Mature forest breeding species captures showed a significant curvilinear trend that increased gradually up to a peak around 6–9 years after harvest and then declined. Capture rates suggest that large numbers of birds use clearcuts in the decade after the clearcuts are formed. The abundance of forest-breeding birds in clearcuts in late summer equals or even exceeds the abundance of clearcut-breeding birds found there. This suggests that clearcuts may be an important habitat for mature forest breeding birds after they breed in mature habitats. More work on post-fledging behavior of migratory birds is needed to determine those species which require early succession habitats such as clearcuts and those species which simply take advantage of such habitats should they occur in the vicinity. Received 9 January 2014. Accepted 5 April 2014. Key words: clearcut, early succession birds, even-aged management, mature forest birds, Missouri Ozark Forest, mist- net, post-fledging. Within North American eastern deciduous forest, timber harvest affects the diversity and abundance of songbirds breeding in the un- harvested mature forest and in the early-succes- sional habitats that regenerate after timber harvest (Faaborg 2002, Gram et al. 2003). Removal of timber by clearcutting results in the absence of breeding by mature forest birds within the harvested stands for a period of time, plus shifting densities of forest-breeding birds around the harvested stands (Wallendorf et al. 2007). Although 1 Division of Science and Math, Central Methodist University, 411 Central Methodist Square, Fayette, MO 65248, USA. 2 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Uni- versity of Missouri, 302 ABNR, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. 3 Missouri Department of Conservation, Resource Sci- ence, 3500 East Gans Road, Columbia, MO 65201, USA. 4 Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 105 Tucker Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. 5 Corresponding author; e-mail: ppornelu@centralmethodist.edu 623