Jun 3, 2021
CWF
June 3, 2021, OTTAWA, Ont.- The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) is pleased to share ideas for conserving grassland songbirds like the Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark, now nesting on Canadian pastures and hayfields.
“Agricultural producers using best practices on the land are key to promoting the recovery of grassland bird populations and their habitats,” says Carolyn Callaghan, CWF senior conservation biologist, terrestrial wildlife. “Pasturelands and hayfields are home to grassland birds that nest only in these environments.”
According to the 2019 State of the Birds Report, grassland bird populations have declined by approximately 60 per cent since the 1970s. The songbirds nest on the ground in mid-May, but their young can’t flee or fly very well until mid-July.
CWF conducted a two-year pilot project with 20 livestock producers in western Quebec to identify best practices for supporting the grassland birds. CWF also produced a new animated video to help producers in other areas of the country apply good conservation practices to increase biodiversity and sustainability.
“The Bobolink is very faithful to its nesting site, meaning that it comes back to nest in the same prairie every spring,” said Carl Savignac, one of the lead researchers. “We are very grateful to our livestock producer partners who work directly with us to develop best practices that support these birds.”
Delaying haying until July 15 is the best practice, but other options include rotational grazing, mowing the outer portion of the hay field and creating a refuge plot in the centre until mid July, or installing a flushing bar during mowing operations to reduce bird mortality.
The public can also help these birds in a variety of ways, Callaghan says.
- Consumers can support local producers using best practices for wildlife
- Horse owners and riders can support bird-friendly hay producers
- Canadians can post photos of Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Barn Swallow and other farmland wildlife to iNaturalist.ca or submit them to the CWF photo contest.
More than 50 million acres of grassland, pasture and hay exist in Canada so habitat conservation is critical, Callaghan adds. Farmland hosts 313 species of birds, and 69 per cent of all breeding bird species.
The Bobolink has one of the longest migrations among North American birds and can cover a total distance of 20, 000 km in one year. It can also even fly over the ocean without stopping for 1,900 km or more.
Bobolink prefer nesting in tall grasses such as hayfields, whereas Eastern Meadowlark prefer shorter grasslands such as pasturelands or hayfields where there is good litter cover of dead grass from past years. Grasslands with too much alfalfa are avoided by both species.
For more information and to watch the animated video, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/bird-friendly.
About the Canadian Wildlife Federation:
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to fostering awareness and appreciation of our natural world. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on the environment, carrying out research, developing and delivering education programs, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, recommending changes to policy and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature. For more information visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.
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Media contacts:
Heather Robison, Media and Community Relations Officer, heatherr@cwf-fcf.org 1.877.599.5777 x 212
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