In some species, it has been determined that females choose nest sites close to the territories of other males to facilitate these extra-pair copulations. DNA work could reveal if this is occuring with our Wood Thrush population. Blue Jays and American Crows are the predators that typically remove the eggs from the nest before consuming them. Researchers have found that predation in general accounts for a very high percentage of Wood Thrush nest failures. Smaller forest fragments have a greater number of avian predators because there are fewer large predators to keep their numbers in check.
Buckthorns also favor damp areas that the thrushes like, and are a dominant shrub in our area.
Therefore, while buckthorn is a favored nest substrate, other native species share these characteristics and would, if present more abundantly, substitute for this exotic species. Wood Thrushes we suspect may be staying in the area to nest are color banded. We are not able to catch all breeding adults, and not all young are accessible enough to band. A female banded in 1992 as a hatching-year bird was recaptured in 1993 and 1994. She successfully fledged three young in 1994.