What I think some people don’t understand is when they talk about habitat for birds, they don’t mean all birds. I can only speak for the US but loss of grassland breeding habitat caused the extinction of at least one native species (the heath hen in the eastern US) and a severe reduction in the range of others (Dickcissels, Bobolinks, longspurs, meadowlarks etc). These birds breed in early summer and nest in tall grass, which often means hayfields. If farmers mow around the same time to get in another crop then that means the loss of all the nestlings and the parents will not try to breed there again. Dedicating ten percent is good but what The Massachusetts Audubon society have been doing to help Bobolink populations recover is paying farmers to wait and now their field at the end of summer, after the birds have finished breeding. It means the fields can still be 100% used AND the birds can have a successful breeding season. It’s been a huge success.
hotsauce96 t1_j3gzeh0 wrote
Reply to Farmland bird populations bounce back when farms devote 10% of their land to nature-friendly measures. Ten-year study measured changes in the abundance of farmland birds on land managed under bird-focused schemes, as well as land no bird-friendly farming initiatives. by Wagamaga
What I think some people don’t understand is when they talk about habitat for birds, they don’t mean all birds. I can only speak for the US but loss of grassland breeding habitat caused the extinction of at least one native species (the heath hen in the eastern US) and a severe reduction in the range of others (Dickcissels, Bobolinks, longspurs, meadowlarks etc). These birds breed in early summer and nest in tall grass, which often means hayfields. If farmers mow around the same time to get in another crop then that means the loss of all the nestlings and the parents will not try to breed there again. Dedicating ten percent is good but what The Massachusetts Audubon society have been doing to help Bobolink populations recover is paying farmers to wait and now their field at the end of summer, after the birds have finished breeding. It means the fields can still be 100% used AND the birds can have a successful breeding season. It’s been a huge success.