Henslow's Sparrow is also very picky when it comes to where it will and won't
nest, even slight changes in the plant make up of a particular field will cause
Henslow's Sparrows to move on. This is why sites such as the one in Sharon
Springs, were abandonded after 2 or 3 years, the field changed and the birds
moved on. In other traditional areas in Eastern New York, such as Ft. Edward in
Washington County, habitat fragmentation and changes in farming practices (or
the stopping of farming in a lot of areas) has reduced the amount of
appropriate Henslow's habitat or fragmented to such an extent where competition
between other grassland species and preditation by cats, coyotes, crows or
Brown-headed Cowbird is likely high. Add in the fact that the early season wet
and mild temperatures caused hayfields to grow very quickly, and many fields
were cut starting as early as Mid June(!) with second cuts about to start in
another week or two, leaving even less habitat than usual. Another issue is
that Henslow's are hard to find and hear, as most of us know their song isn't
robust and could be easily over looked. Also most upstate landowners don't
take kindly to trespassers as such you can only see/hear so much from the
road, in some cases the fields are 100's of acres with only a small section
accessabile, so unless the birds are close to a road, they are again very easy
to miss. I know Audubon does IBA monitoring at Ft. Edward and Henslow's is
often recorded, but they are somewhat secretive about their findings. As for
other organizations buying land in places like Ames, Montgomery County it would
be a good thing to protect these grasslands. In addtion to Henslow's Sparrow,
Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrow are common, American Kestral is common,
Northern Harrier is common, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks and Upland
Sandpipers. The Mississippi Kites nest only a few miles away (and are still
there if anyone is interested), in winter Rough-Legged Hawks, Snowy and
Short-Eared Owls can be found along with Longspurs, Buntings and Larks. But it
would take an extensive management plan to keep the habitat (including tilling,
mowing etc.), could such a plan be done? Sure, and one hoepfully that involves
the local farming community, but these kind of projects take time, money and
people, which lets face it a lot of organizations are having trouble with right
now. Until there is further information, I agree with the assessment that
Henslow's Sparrow in NYS is threatened. More research needs to be done to
getting a better handle on actual numbers and whether or not the population is
sustainable, but the lead for such a project will have to come from a
Non-government organization, given our current political climate. Will
RaupAlbany, NY
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:37:55 -0400
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Status of Henslow's Sparrow in NYS
From: oceanwander...@gmail.com
To: NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu
Bulletin board postings are naturally slanted to positive news and don't do
such a good job recording disappearances, either of particular individuals (is
the Hooded Crow still being seen?) or of populations. The recent discovery of
two Henslow's Sparrows in a field near Ames (Montgomery Co.) got me thinking:
are these are the only sightings for New York State this season?
Looking at eBird (a better resource for this type of question) says no, but
only just. Evidently, small numbers (the entries are for 1 bird each) are still
present in Fort Drum and the nearby Perch River WMA (Jefferson Co.) and a
little to the north in St. Lawrence County. But according to eBird, that's it.
I suspect official surveys will have come up with a few more at these sites but
still.
Have other traditional breeding sites in western and central NYS been checked
and found negative? Is total extirpation as a breeding species imminent? At
what point should Henslow's Sparrow be added to the NYSARC review list? Heady
questions. It would give me peace of mind to know if other breeding sites still
exist. Precise locations are not necessary, just enough to know whether or not
the breeding population in now confined to a relatively small area in the St.
Lawrence Transition.
Unfortunately I don't have the The
Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State (McGowan and Corwin
2008) at hand but I am sure this indispensable resource for state birds has
much to say on this troubling topic. In 1999, the DEC reclassified the sparrow
as Threatened (from Species of Special Concern) but my sense is that the
decline has continued unchecked.
--
Angus Wilson
New York City & The Springs, NY, USA
http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/
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