Working Landscapes

This past Saturday, fellow CES staffer Dan Small and I attended a grassland and shrubland bird symposium sponsored by Virginia Working Landscapes and held at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.  VWL is a consortium of groups interested in, among other things, establishing demonstration sites to showcase best practices for various land uses on working farms and creating a network for landowners to exchange information and ideas.

Bobolink in fall plumage.

We knew it was going to be a good day when the first item on the agenda was a bird walk and tour of a nearby farm.  The group of 25 or so landowners and managers admired and discussed the grass buffers, their species composition and what problems or challenges they had faced in their own efforts to create and maintain grasslands.  As we ambled through Big Bluestem and Indian Grass we heard the constant calls of Bobolinks moving between the grass stand and the adjacent alfalfa field.   Other grassland birds detected included Grasshopper Sparrows and a Dickcissel.  It was almost as though Dan had planted the birds as a primer for his talk about the CRFRS grasslands (he highlighted all three species).

Male Dickcissel.  Photo by Bill Hubick

Back at the lecture hall, speakers covered such topics as bird-friendly haying practices on Vermont dairy farms, maximizing bird habitat on public lands and identifying suitable habitat for Golden-winged Warblers.  Dan Small, representing CRFRS and CES, described the establishment and management of the warm season grasslands on Chino Farms/ Chester River Field Research Station and the birds that have colonized the site.

CES Field Ecologist Dan Small discussing the Chino grasslands.

Mike Wilson, of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology, spoke about determining the appropriate use of land based on the size of the area.  Many grassland birds require larger spaces for breeding habitat than other species.  This means that you could install a perfect looking five acre grassland, but those five acres are probably not enough to sustain any grassland birds.  If you only have five acres of property, he suggests managing it as a shrubland instead.  Many species of birds requiring second-growth scrub/shrub habitats are in decline.  Birds such as Golden-winged Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, Dickcissels and Northern Bobwhites are facing great challenges due to habitat loss and could greatly benefit from managing lands for them.

Shrub/scrub habitat may look messy to humans, but looks safe and inviting to birds and other wildlife.

We met many enthusiastic landowners who wanted to provide the great bird habitat that was also compatible with other land uses such as haying, farming and hunting.  It was exciting to see so many like-minded folks and to hear about some of the compromises available to landowners.  Several expressed interest in seeing CRFRS firsthand and learning more about what we have accomplished on Chino.

Information on Virginia Working Landscapes can be found on  their website. Though geared toward Virginians, much of the information is relevant to Marylanders.  Many land restoration projects can be supported through grants from the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service).   Thanks to Bill Hubick for the use of his Dickcissel photo.

Maren Gimpel is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station.  Photos and stories about the goings on of CRFRS can be found at www.facebook.com/crfrc or at www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter

Northern Bobwhite

Many landowners on Maryland’s Eastern Shore lament the loss of Northern Bobwhite (quail) on their property. The fact that quail have been disappearing from their former habitats is nothing new, concerned citizens and wildlife biologists have been worried about this game bird’s future in Maryland for some time now. But all is not lost; with a little dedication and help from private landowners the negative population trend can be reversed. The Center for Environment & Society has teamed up with Tall Timbers Research Station to form The Northern Bobwhite Quail Restoration Initiative. One of the goals of the project is to form a regional network of private landowners who are interested in restoring the habitat necessary for Bobwhite to make a comeback.

Adult Male Northern Bobwhite. Photo by Bill Hubick.

Habitat loss is often cited as the leading cause of population declines for quail. In Maryland they have declined at a rate of 5.1% per year since 1966 and at an accelerated 7.3% per year since 1980 (Ellison 2010). Restoring quail will involve increasing habitat surrounding farm fields, including grasslands or overgrown fields, shrub-scrub, woodland edges and hedgerows between farm fields. Chino Farms in northern Queen Anne’s County is leading efforts in the area to provide the mix of ideal habitats that quail need. Creating and maintaining early successional habitat is a work in progress, but with persistent dedication, time and the guidance from Tall Timbers the farm is becoming a model and resource for other interested landowners.

A small part of the restored warm season grasslands on Chino Farm.

With the rapid advancements in modern farming technologies, the way we practice farming has changed a lot in just a short period of time. In the past quail could rely on fence rows, hedgerows and fallow fields, but with larger equipment came larger fields and these critical habitats were lost. Back then landowners and managers didn’t have to manage their properties specifically for quail, the farming practices simply were good for quail. Today’s quail live in a completely different environment.  Nowadays, land managers have to actively manage the land to support quail. Another goal of the Intiative is to bring together landowners to share experiences on what works and what doesn’t, everyone has ideas and input and sharing them with the group will benefit everyone involved.

This recently fledged Northern Bobwhite was caught in a mist net during daily banding operations in the restored grasslands on Chino. This individual along with 10 other birds from a family group were too small to band and were quickly released.

If you are interested in creating quail habitat or know someone who may be interested, please keep an eye out here or at the CES facebook page for more information about a quail forum this fall. The unmistakeable whistle call of the male Northern Bobwhite belongs in the rural landscape and with your help we can all work together to make sure they are around for generations to come.

Information can also be found here, http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/quailrestoration.php.

Thanks to Bill Hubick for allowing use of his photographs. www.billhubick.com

Dan Small is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station. Please visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/crfrc or find additional information here www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter

Bobolink...What's that?

Male Bobolink. Photo by Bill Hubick.

Well, it’s a bird and a fascinating one at that. The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, is a songbird in the blackbird family (Icteridae).  As you can see from the pictures to the right and below, males and female are sexually dimorphic in the spring and summer months when the male has unmistakable black and white plumage with a straw colored nape. The female retains cryptic coloration year-round which is made up of straw colored body plumage with black streaking on the flanks.  Bobolinks are long distant migrants traveling thousands of miles annually from their breeding grounds in North America to their wintering grounds in South America, roughly 6000 miles one way!!! Males not only have unique plumage, but have a very unique song, follow this link to hear what they sound like, http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/CDTGHVBGZP/BOBO2007-6-3-2.mp3, recorded by Andrew Spencer.  Some people think they sound like R2-D2 from Star Wars.

Female Bobolink. Photo by Bill Hubick.

Bobolinks require grasslands or something very similar, like alfalfa or hay fields, in which to nest. They can be found in Maryland during migration in both spring and fall and they breed in western and northern counties in the state. Maryland is at the very southern end of the breeding range for Bobolinks. They don’t breed on the eastern shore, but some attempt to nest in the northern reaches of Cecil County in hay fields.

Bobolinks have experienced range-wide population declines due to a variety of reasons, with habitat loss considered the single biggest factor. Most native grasslands and wet meadows have disappeared and they have been forced to nest in crop and hay fields as a result.  In terms of habitat quality, hay fields are not bad, but the problem is harvesting the hay while birds are still nesting. Farmers need to cut the hay at its nutritional peak which is often prior to young birds fledging or when they are still too young to fly. Biologists, especially in Vermont, are working with farmers to delay the cutting to allow nests to fledge.

Adult male Bobolink in breeding plumage.

Many Bobolinks use the CRFRS restored grassland on Chino Farm as stopover and refueling site during spring migration. But, the best time to see them in the grasslands is July through September. Adult males arrive first, still in their distinctive breeding plumage, followed by adult females and then in August and September by the young of the year. The restored grasslands provide critical habitat for the Bobolinks that stop here in the fall. Not only do the grasslands provide a bounty of food, in the form of insects and unlimited grass seed, but the tall thick fields act as a refuge. Bobolinks are somewhat unique among east coast birds in that they do not molt on their breeding grounds or the wintering grounds, but rather somewhere in between. This is where the restored grasslands are important.  

Adult male Bobolink undergoing flight feather molt.

 

 

Molt is the process of feather replacement that all birds under take annually. Soon after the adult Bobolinks arrive in the grasslands they begin the pre-basic molt which is complete, meaning they will molt, or replace, all their feathers. Only after this molt is complete in about 3-4 weeks will these birds continue their south-bound migration. All Bobolinks will again undergo a complete molt prior to leaving their wintering grounds for their spring migration back north. Flocks of over 300 individuals have been seen in the fields. What we don’t know yet is whether the same individuals use the grasslands as a molting ground every year or whether we always see different individuals. There are only two bird species in North America that go through two complete molts each year, Bobolinks are one of them, do you know what the other species is?

Sweeping views of the CRFRS restored grasslands on Chino Farm.

The CRFRS restored grasslands are not only providing critical breeding habitat for declining species such as Grasshopper Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Dickcissel and Northern Bobwhite and are a great winter habitat for a diversity of grassland dependent species but are also playing a fundamental role in the life cycle of Bobolinks.

Thanks to Bill Hubick for the use of his photographs. More of his photos can be seen at www.billhubick.com

Dan Small is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station and spends just about everyday in the summer months in the restored grasslands. For more information go to www.facebook.com/crfrc or www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter