There are a couple of hayfields on the edge of Grand Rapids where I find Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, LeConte's Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Savannah Sparrow, and other species occasionally. This type of habitat is not very extensive in Itasca County. Unfortunately, these birds set up territories only to have their nests (and probably eggs or chicks) mowed over each year in early to mid June.
Today I approached the managing agency of this hayfield and asked if they would be open to altering their haying schedule to accomodate the needs of the birds. The individual I spoke with was interested and concerned, but said he simply could not justify waiting to hay because the quality of the hay decreases and they were already pressed to get the amount of hay needed. He said that the fields would be cut within a week and they would prefer to go earlier in June in most years. I asked him if he would be opposed to creative ways of approaching the problem and he replied that he wouldn't if they would not have to sacrifice hay quality. He also said that if a limited number of nests were identified and marked, he would be willing to consider leaving buffers around them. Finally, I asked him if he would be opposed to someone being present in the fields when they were hayed to study mortality, nest density, reproductive stage or other factors to help develop solutions to the problem. He responded that he would be fine with that as long as whoever would be present would sign a form saying that the data collected would not be used to stop their activities or portray their agency in a negative light. I'm not sure what can be done at this point, especially with such a short window this year, but I'm wondering if there are in fact: -creative ways to deal with this problem, -data that shows when critical periods occur for these species this far north, -a good way to locate grassland nests prior to haying, -a way to identify fields that would act as population sinks and prevent the birds from choosing them in the first place, -a use for the data that could be collected during the haying process, -ornithologists or students who would be interested in visiting the site during the haying (I may not be able to personally) or in making contact with the agency I'm not as much interested in these specific fields (and this specific season) as I am in finding a way to protect some of these birds to demonstrate to other hayfield owners in the area that they do host important species and that there are measures to prevent nest failure in these fields. Thing is, I don't know that there are. Any ideas? Shawn Conrad http://users.2z.net/itasca_chippewa_birding/ _________________________________________________________________ Like puzzles? Play free games & earn great prizes. Play Clink now. http://club.live.com/clink.aspx?icid=clink_hotmailtextlink2
