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Adam:
Regarding early hay mowing, nesting success and recruitment with Bobolinks, I would suggest that we talk with landowners to see if they will delay hay mowing, until the Bobolink chicks fledge. When I lived in Pennsylvania, we had very little recruitment with Ring-necked Pheasant because of early hay mowing.
After conducting a study, we determined that most (80-85%) Pheasant nests were within 20 yards of a hay field edge, not randomly distributed throughout a field. We also learned that pheasant chicks would have fledged within 14 days after the first mowing had the nests not been destroyed. After talking with farmers and getting habitat enhancement money, along with a grant from Pheasants Forever and like partners, we were able to pay farmers to delay mowing of the first spring cutting by 14 days in prime Pheasant habitat locations.
The recruitment success jumped significantly and the project was later refined where farmers could cut hay early but leave that 20 yard section connected to a fields edge intact. This 20 yard portion was harvested after the 14 day period. This enabled the funding paid to land owners for the mowing delay to expand the number of fields we could afford to pay farmers for any economic loss in the tonnage left in the field with the reduced area mowing in the first cutting.
Pheasant populations increased dramatically and nesting success went from 10-12% to 85%. Predation from Raccoon, Red Fox and Skunk resulted in the losses experienced thereafter. Hay mowing was eliminated as the primary reason for declining Pheasant nesting success.
Regards,
Bill Fenimore
Wild Bird Center 1860 North 1000 West Layton UT 84041-1858 (801) 525-8400 Store (801) 699-9330 Cellular www.wildbirdcenter.com/stores/lay |