Since writing about the decline in grassland species a number of weeks ago, I was sent a great article on "The State of the Birds, 2009 - Grasslands."

 The full article can be found at http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2009/habitats/grasslands.

 A very scary statement to me is that "Grassland birds are among the fastest and most consistently declining birds in North America; 48 per cent are of conservation concern and 55 per cent are showing significant declines."

 Only two per cent of the tallgrass prairie that was present in the 1800s remains. There is frequent haying and overgrazing, resulting in failed nesting. Major threats are intensified by agriculture, burning of grass early in the season and frequent mowing. Energy and climate change play a part. The demand for biofuels contributes to reduced acreage for farm conservation. Wind turbines in the wrong spot can have an impact and global warming results in drought conditions, which lowers reproduction and food supply.

 To help, farm conservation programs are our best bet for the birds. Haying, grazing, mowing and burning can be done to be compatible with birds. Wetland conservation should continue and working with landowners is also important.

 Many partners are working together to help improve the status of our grassland birds. They include the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), the American Bird Conservancy, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Audubon, the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology, Kiomath Bird Observatory, the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, United States Government Services (USGS), Partners In Flight, the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan, North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas.

 Jon LeBlanc e-mailed me to say that his wife had seen a turkey vulture in East LaHave. Before I got that e-mail, my dad described a bird that he had seen at a neighbour's compost. It's probably the same turkey vulture, confirming the second one of these birds that I've heard of at East LaHave.

 John Curry noted a northern gannet diving for fish at Chester's back harbour. Mandy Eisenhauer at Rhodes Corner saw a juvenile pileated woodpecker and she also heard a barred owl. Mike Spencer at Crousetown had a pair of pileated woodpeckers and he was able to observe them partaking of dogwood berries.

 David Walmark and I had a short-billed dowitcher that walked directly in front of us, along the entire road that goes out to Conrads Island, at Lower Rose Bay. This was a very strange occurrence and something I've never seen before.

 The only reason that I can think of for this action is that the bird must've been fresh in from some far-off place and was exhausted and just dropped down. The bird eventually flew to the mud flats, so it was not injured.

 Amongst the shorebirds, a pectoral sandpiper was a nice treat, as was a buff-breasted sandpiper. Kevin Lantz and I were lucky to find a juvenile Baird's sandpiper there a few days later. Had Kevin not taken a great photo, I still would not know what the bird was as I've only ever seen adult Baird's sandpipers before. Kevin discovered a solitary sandpiper at Garden Lots.

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 Lucas Berrigan is now on Bon Portage Island. He reports a western kingbird, blue-grey gnatcatchers, dickcissels, Philadelphia vireos, an orchard oriole, a rusty blackbird, buff-breasted sandpipers, a yellow-breasted chat, a prairie warbler and an olive-sided flycatcher, just to mention some of the good birds that were there.

 Reach me at jrhbirder@hotmail.com or phone 764-2182.

posted on 09/07/10