Project Bobolink: Grassland Bird Conservation at Heaven Hill Farm 2020
Adirondack Watershed Institute
Michale Glennon, Adelaide Balliett, & McKenzie Kelly
Native grasslands, which support a number of grassland dependent bird species, are one of the most endangered ecosystems in the Americas (Renfrew et al. 2019). Grassland birds such as bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) depend on these habitats in both their breeding and wintering grounds and must often find alternatives to native grasslands to meet their needs. In the Northeast US, hay meadows often provide ideal habitat for grassland specialist species including the bobolink, as well as the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), and the northern harrier (Circus hudsonius). Grassland birds as a group are exhibiting steep population declines throughout the Northeast as a result of a combination of factors related to habitat loss and fragmentation and intensification of agricultural practices on active farms. Hay mowing in particular is a challenge for grassland birds because cutting often coincides with breeding activity and results in significant mortality of nestlings and fledglings. The Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) has worked with the Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation since 2019 to address concerns related to grassland birds breeding at Heaven Hill Farm in Lake Placid.
In summer 2019, the Foundation generously supported AWI to examine how bobolinks and other bird species respond to farming practices in hay fields on Heaven Hill Farm. We conducted a project to assess the numbers of bobolink and savannah sparrow using the open fields in the mowed and set aside areas at Heaven Hill, identify potential nesting locations of these species, explore opportunities for habitat improvement on the set aside area, and provide management recommendations appropriate to Heaven Hill and nearby grassland habitats. We documented numerous passerine and woodpecker species, and followed the behavior and activity of several male and female bobolinks and numerous savannah sparrows which enabled us to identify the areas of the property most used by these species and those which served as potential nest locations, make recommendations for minimizing the effects to these birds from hay mowing practices at Heaven Hill and other areas with appropriate grassland habitat, and to make recommendations for potential additional research, outreach, and conservation practices at Heaven Hill.
Our work continued in 2020, with a specific focus on comparing findings with the previous year in terms of species and numbers of birds observed on the property, areas of highest activity, observed breeding behavior, and most likely nesting areas in order to inform ongoing efforts to address the needs of these birds at Heaven Hill and to assess any observed response to management. We also worked toward advancing the Uihlein Foundation’s broader impacts related to grassland bird conservation via education and outreach and, in particular, through the acquisition of the former Cornell potato field parcel (Tablelands at Uihlein Farm). Tablelands is the focus of a separate standalone report.
