Birds are some of the most important animals that exist in today's world. Their abilities to spread seeds, pollinate plants, contribute to nutrient cycling, and control pests are critical for our planet's health. As a bonus, they are the main way that many people connect to nature through the hobby of birdwatching. However, birds are suffering as a result of human activity. Studies have shown that populations and overall species diversity of grassland birds are decreasing at an unprecedented rate, making it more important than ever for us to have an understanding of where they are and what they need to survive.
For three days during my internship this summer, I had the opportunity to conduct bird point counts at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance's newly acquired property: Hillside Prairie Sanctuary. Point counts focus mainly on the “where they are” aspect of bird numbers and species diversity. Species composition and density of birds at the sanctuary is critical for formulating a successful management plan. Understanding the presence of certain bird species in specific areas can play a major role in deciding what type of ecosystem an area will be restored to and how to go about doing this work. For example, the Bobolinks of Hillside Prairie tend to nest in the grassy fields, which are mostly dominated by nonnative brome grass, orchard grass, and timothy grass. Knowing this allows the sanctuary team to make decisions that will increase the availability of high quality habitat while still ensuring the right nesting conditions remain for Bobolinks.
Point count map (courtesy of Andy Smith).
The guidelines that I followed for my counts are similar to those used in a previous study of the property conducted by Heather Inzalaco in 2016. Over the course of June 19, 20, and 23, I surveyed 25 separate, randomized points across the sanctuary beginning around 5 AM each day. At each point, I made note of every bird that I saw and heard for roughly 10 minutes.
I found that Hillside Prairie has a large population of birds and a massive amount of bird species diversity, which I believe is due to the size and wide range of habitats. Across all three counts, I found a total of 50 species and 655 individuals. This many different species of birds on a property of this size during a nonmigratory season is really exceptional. Likely even more species call the sanctuary home that were not found during my counts—Horned Larks are often present earlier in the year, while other species, like Sedge Wrens, tend to show up later in the season.
Using this data, I created maps demonstrating the presence of three particular species and predicting overall species diversity at any given point across the sanctuary. Overall, the species diversity is higher in woodlands and near buildings. However, three critical grassland species—Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Dickcissels—are much more prevalent in the more open grassy fields. This makes sense, as historically all three species thrived in the wide open expanses of prairie that are greatly reduced in today's world. I estimated from the total numbers and number of singing males that there were 25–30 pairs of Bobolinks, 15–20 pairs of Eastern Meadowlarks, and 17–20 pairs of Dickcissels nesting this summer.
This study was very productive and revealed some interesting things about the birds breeding at Hillside Prairie. An almost absurd amount of Bobolinks call the sanctuary home. It was absolutely fantastic to see 14 Bobolinks at just one point. Having at least 65 total Bobolinks on a single property is a really cool thing and incredibly uncommon. It does make sense, though, given the amount of suitable habitat. Another thing that my point counts verified is the presence of possibly four pairs of Red-Headed Woodpeckers. This species is not very common and tends to nest in high quality, open woodland habitats. The presence of Red-headed Woodpeckers this early in the restoration process is a great indicator of how much restorative potential the sanctuary's open oak woodlands have.
My point counts identified several other species that will likely increase in number during the restoration process, including the Eastern Kingbird (I counted 7), Gray Catbird (8), Brown Thrasher (2), Clay-colored Sparrow (1), Field Sparrow (5), Red-winged Blackbirds (114), and Common Yellowthroat (7).
Overall, my time spent doing point counts at Hillside Prairie was wonderful and the data that I was able to collect will be important for managing the sanctuary. I had an awesome time seeing and hearing so many exciting birds. The landscape is very beautiful and already has so much good wildlife that calls it home. As habitats are expanded and restored, Northern Harriers, Willow Flycatchers, and Savannah Sparrows might nest here in the future. I am excited to see how the restoration of the sanctuary progresses and hope that the point counts that I conducted are useful going forward.
Written by Andy Smith, Goose Pond summer intern
Cover image by Mike Budd/USFWS. A male Bobolink with black, white, and yellow plumage perched on a wooden fencepost.
