GrasslandBirds

Celebrating and conserving the ecological richness of California's grasslands

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Enhancing Grassland Restoration for Grassland Birds, Rodd Kelsey, Grasslands Winter 2010

Keeping Grasslands Healthy: Using birds to measure the health of your California Grassland (PDF) NRCS, Point Blue Conservation Science (Accessed June 9, 2021).

Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)

Species Spotlight: Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), by John Sterling, Grasslands, Spring 2013

Link: Grasshopper Sparrow, Common Bird in Steep Decline , Partners in Flight

Research Paper: Winnicki, S. K., Munguía, S. M., Williams, E. J., and Boyle, W. A.. 2020. Social interactions do not drive territory aggregation in a grassland songbird. Ecology 101( 2):e02927. 10.1002/ecy.2927

Winnicki et all paper explained in graphics on Twitter.

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Species Spotlight: Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus): A Small Grassland Bird with a Big Appetite, Felix Ratcliff, Grasslands, Spring 2018

White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)

Species Spotlight: White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus), by Hillary White, Grasslands, Fall 2013

Western Burrowing Owl (Athene cunciulariia hypugaea)

Species: Western burrowing owl (Athene cunciularia hypugaea)

Article: Managing California Grassland Ecosystems for Burrowing Owls (photo: R. DiGuadio)

Conservation Program: San Diego Zoo Global’s Burrowing Owl Recovery Program is working to keep the western burrowing owl (Athene cunciularia hypugaea) from going locally extinct. The program includes monitoring, including motion-activated cameras, and creating artificial burrows as well as recruiting California ground squirrels to create burrow! Learn more a the Wild Watch San Diego website.

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Species Spotlight: Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta: photo: Jack Booth)

Western meadowlarks are year-round residents of California grasslands and part of the incredible suite of species that depend on grasslands for food and shelter. Western Meadowlark populations have declined 42% since 1970 (North American Breeding Bird Survey). Worldwide, all grassland birds are at risk because of degraded and mismanaged grasslands via Partners in Flight, 2017).