*_Paying farmers_**:* It's worth considering paying farmers to manage farmland to accommodate nesting birds, but it isn't $10 per farmer, farmers were paid $50/acre for the 2019 growing season by the Bobolink Project. Bobolinks like large fields, the bigger the better., so the Bobolink Project requires a minimum grassland field size of 20 acres. At 2019 rates, that meant one minimally sized field cost $1000/yr. Upland sandpipers generally require 100 acres - $5000/yr. Probably why in 2021 their fundraising protected only 1,159 acres statewide - much better than nothing, but not a large area. That is in Massachusetts and acreage protection could cost more or less here, but probably not much less since grassland is farmed to produce hay, which is not cheap. * **_Discouraging birds from nesting_**:* With regard to Geo's point on discouraging nesting where mowing will be done, MassAudubon, which runs the Bobolink Project, recommends <https://www.massaudubon.org/content/download/19413/274073/file/Best-Management-Practices_Grasslands.pdf>: > If a field must be mowed during June or early July—and we strongly > hope such will not be the case for lands held in the public trust by > municipalities, land trusts, and conservation NGOs—intentionally make > the site unsuitable for grassland-nesting birds by mowing every 2 or 3 > weeks, beginning in late May and continuing through mid-July. > Discouraging birds from nesting on such sites will prevent them from > being lured into ecological traps; hopefully the frequent mowing will > force them to relocate to other, more bird-friendly location. Not clear they are basing this on any particular evidence. Also, I don't understand how this would work for hay, but perhaps they mean non-farmers?
*_Targeting grassland not in cultivation_**:* Landowners who aren't farming their land might not even need to be paid to adopt a bird-friendly mowing schedule, or they might accept a much lower payment since they aren't out of pocket when they change how and when they mow. Does it make sense to begin by looking into efforts made by other bird clubs and organizations to these landowners, and then spend time on outreach to state, not for profit, and private landowners? There are plenty of grassland management guides to borrow from (for example MassAudubon's <https://www.massaudubon.org/content/download/19413/274073/file/Best-Management-Practices_Grasslands.pdf> and the NYS DEC's <https://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/86582.html>). The DEC itself manages a lot of land on wildlife refuges - is it required to follow its own guidelines on the grassland portions? And is it required to keep grassland as grassland or is it allowing it to grow up into scrub, renting it to farmers to use as cropland, or otherwise failing to maintain this habitat? On 6/21/2021 10:52 AM, hollis.white wrote: > Hi everyone,on early/late mowing,why not follow the Bobolink > Project,pay the farmers and whoever,to mow later,10 dollars apiece or > some sum,giv > En to farmer will do wonders. > > Hollis > > Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy Tablet > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Geo Kloppel <[email protected]> > Date: 6/21/21 8:54 AM (GMT-05:00) > To: [email protected] > Cc: CayugaBirds-L b <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. > > Hi Anne, > > I wasn’t thinking of entering the fields that had been pre-selected > for early mowing, nor searching for nests. Rather, I was wondering if > in some way those fields could be rendered unappealing just before > nesting begins, at the critical moment* when the sociable and > polygamous Bobolinks are choosing which fields to build their nests > in. Maybe they would find certain noises or predator signals or > patrolling drones or something else unacceptable, and move on to > settle into other fields that were slated for later mowing. > > *I wrote “moment” for whatever the brief period might be before they > make their choice and begin nest building. > > -Geo > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jun 21, 2021, at 6:36 AM, [email protected] wrote: > > > > Speaking as someone who spent years locating redwing nests, I think > this is a mountain not a molehill. Locating nests in grassland is HARD > on purpose. Birds make it that way. Feeding females do t go down to > their nests. They drop and walk to the nest. One makes paths tromping > through the grass which neither farmer nor birds will benefit from. > > > > I was thinking about what long term obs and relatively few nesting > areas it took for the one farm as described. > > > > No not impossible but much harder than it seems. And leaving clumps > with nests as well as paths near them will increase predation. > > > > I am dubious as good as this sounds. > > > > Anne > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > >> On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:40 PM, Geo Kloppel <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> I’ve been musing along a different line, wondering if a preemptive > approach is possible. > >> > >> It takes time to mow the big fields that grassland nesters favor, > and the hay farmer can’t mow all of them simultaneously. The work of > haying season has to begin somewhere, and start early enough that the > farmer can get through it all. So each year some field will be > selected to go first, and another second, and the rest must wait their > turns. > >> > >> Clearly some fields that are later in the queue can produce a crop > of fledglings before it’s their turn to be mowed; otherwise we > wouldn’t be having this conversation. So, suppose for the moment that > the decision about which fields to mow early could be made before > nesting had even begun. If there was then some way to discourage the > birds from selecting those particular fields to nest in, the effect > would be to direct them to the fields slated for later mowing... > >> > >> -Geo > >> -- > >> > >> 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/[email protected]/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: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/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 <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/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/[email protected]/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/ --
