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What’s a Field of Grass to a Bird?
The value of a vanishing ecosystem type — to birds and people
© David Larson
Although a field of grass might not seem like valuable habitat at first, many birds have adapted to nest in grassland habitats and nowhere else. In North America, birds such as the Bobolink seek out grasslands to raise their young, deftly hiding their nests within the dense vegetation. Very few grasslands and savannas have been protected compared to the area that’s been lost, making them the most at-risk ecosystem on the planet. That means every acre of grassland remaining is even more precious — to birds, to plants, and to people.
BirdNote®
What’s a Field of Grass to a Bird?
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[Bobolink song]
An uncut field of waist-high grass might not seem like a valuable habitat at first. It doesn’t have tall mature trees like a forest. It doesn’t have a pond full of fish and frogs.
So, to a bird, what’s so great about a field of grass?
[Bobolink song]
Many birds have adapted to nest in grassland habitats and nowhere else. In North America, birds such as the Bobolink seek out grasslands to raise their young, deftly hiding their nests within the dense vegetation.
The wildflowers and grasses host countless insects that feed the birds and their hungry chicks.
[Red-winged Blackbird nestlings]
And there’s more to a grassland than meets the eye. While a forest stores carbon within wood, grassland plants have roots that reach several yards into the soil and deposit carbon within it. That can help protect birds around the world from climate change.
[Upland Sandpiper calls and background birdsong]
Very few grasslands and savannas have been protected compared to the area that’s been lost, making them the most at-risk ecosystem on the planet. That means every acre of grassland remaining is even more precious — to birds, to plants, and to people.
[Background birdsong]
To learn how you can support grassland habitats, visit BirdNote.org. I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bobolink ML 163892201 recorded by Wich'yanan Limparungpatthanakij, Red-winged Blackbird ML 428075291 recorded by Jay McGowan, and Upland Sandpiper ML 42220 recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote April 2023
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# grassland-01-2023-04-07 grassland-01
References
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00686…;
PDF: https://www.uvm.edu/giee/pubpdfs/Hoekstra_2005_Ecology_Letters.pdf
https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/nrplanning/community/roadsides…;
Conor Gearin
Writer
Ariana Remmel
NarratorSights & Sounds
