I was about to say that anyone who wants to discuss the matter cogently with actual farmers and hayfield managers would do well to consult the Resources page on the Cayuga Bird Club website, where this link lives: Cornell Cooperative Extension has published a very helpful document on Hayfield Management and Grassland Bird Conservation.
Alas! That link is broken. But here’s one that still works: https://www.nyfoa.org/application/files/6314/7948/6092/HayfieldsGrassland_Birds_3MB.pdf More generally, let’s remember that without field culture and haymaking, most of what we call grassland in this part of the country would revert to forest cover, where Bobolinks and Meadowlarks would not be found. -Geo Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 15, 2021, at 6:07 PM, Sandy Podulka <s...@cornell.edu> wrote: > Ken and all, > > Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary of this issue. I have some > friends I am trying to convince to not mow too soon, so will use your words > there, too. > > Can anyone tell me what is a "safe" date for mowing? Until when should I ask > them to delay? > > Thanks, > Sandy Podulka > > At 04:07 PM 6/15/2021, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote: > >> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a >> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire >> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other >> grassland bird populations. >> >> >> >> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along >> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting >> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. >> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck >> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various >> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, >> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns >> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female >> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills >> filled food for their almost-fledged young. >> >> >> >> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an >> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently >> hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire >> region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued >> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether >> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly >> supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody >> and I presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of >> fields owned by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model >> for conserving populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other >> biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very >> interested in these options. >> >> >> >> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland >> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges >> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird >> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and >> maybe someone will listen. >> >> >> >> KEN >> >> >> >> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) >> >> Applied Conservation Scientist >> >> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >> >> American Bird Conservancy >> >> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future >> >> k...@cornell.edu >> >> Wk: 607-254-2412 >> >> Cell: 607-342-4594 >> >> >> >> >> >> From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu >> <bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Linda Orkin >> <wingmagi...@gmail.com> >> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM >> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> >> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. >> >> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the >> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be >> done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false >> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing >> meadowlarks for the first time in years, Cornell has returned to early >> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes >> of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass >> while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. >> Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient >> process turning to food for humans. >> >> Linda Orkin >> Ithaca NY >> -- >> >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >> >> ARCHIVES: >> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >> >> Please submit your observations to eBird: >> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >> >> -- >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
