Habitat Management Guidelines

Habitat Management Guidelines
Wild birds need habitat to survive. Exactly what type and how much depends on a species' food preferences, foraging strategies, and nest site requirements. Some birds can live in suburban and even urban environments. Species whose habitat requirements are specific, especially area-sensitive birds requiring large tracts of woodland or grassland, have more difficulty finding suitable habitat amidst our ever-developing human landscape. Successful habitat maintenance follows several guiding principles. These can be used by anyone, on both public and private land, to conserve breeding habitat, wintering habitat, and migratory corridors of all sizes.

Backyard Habitat Conservation
Grow native plants that provide fruit or seeds.

Woodlots with fallen limbs and leaves, dead plant material, and other woodland debris harbor insects on which migratory birds thrive. Leave as much dead plant materials as possible on the land.

Seek alternatives to chemical pesticides. Use biological controls for unwanted insects and vegetation.

Refrain from putting out table scraps, which attract predators such as raccoons.

Invite neighboring landowners to join your backyard effort.

Build and maintain a bird feeder or bird house.

Conservation on Grasslands
Avoid fragmenting existing grassland tracts. The larger the grassland, the greater the number of area-sensitive species, such as Upland Sandpiper and Henslow’s Sparrow, that will be able to nest successfully in the area.

When restoring grasslands, minimize the amount of edge habitat by designing roughly circular or square plots. Use native grasses and local seed sources. Determining the species that should occur at a given site may require research.

To benefit area-sensitive birds, plots should be no smaller than 125 acres, and preferably 250 acres or more. Fifty acres or less will benefit birds that are least sensitive to habitat size, such as the Dickcissel and Red-winged Blackbird.

If plots smaller than 50 acres are the only option, they should be as numerous as possible and no farther apart than 1 mile.

Monitor the grass height. Eliminate woody vegetation that grows higher than the native grasses.

Grasslands evolved with regular burning. Learn about prescribed burns and evaluate the possibility of instituting this practice.

Conservation in Forested Areas
Avoid fragmenting forested areas.

Maintain a well-developed understory, including woody and herbaceous vegetation, to provide resources to a diverse community of woodland bird species.

Minimize the amount of edge habitat by managing generally circular- or square-shaped forests.

Protect or restore forests along streams, wide riparian bottomlands, and ravines; these can be crucial to migratory birds.

Remove non-native plant species, such as kudzu and salt-cedar.

Conservation on Farmlands
After harvest, leave crop residue on the soil surface. This detritus supports insects that are crucial to the diets of migrating birds and provides cover during inclement weather.

Use biological controls on crop pests. Integrated pest management systems that achieve this end include establishing permanent vegetative cover on steep hillsides, reducing the frequency and intensity of tillage, and rotating crops over several years. These techniques reduce the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers and ensure that only the target pest insects are destroyed.

Postpone spring mowing as long as possible; avoid mowing at night, and make intervals between mowing as long as possible to give birds the best chance for successful nesting.

Use inorganic fertilizers sparingly: base use on accurate soil requirements.

Do not mow fencerows and other uncultivated areas, or spray them with pesticides. Try to carry out field operations in these areas only before and after nesting season.

Leave wooded corridors of shrubs and standing trees between fields.

Preserve uncultivated areas and allow them to develop into a variety of vegetative types. Areas between crop fields are helpful to migratory birds. Also, they can help reduce soil erosion.

Use farmland in a wide variety of ways.

Maintain grassy strips within cultivated fields to provide nesting and feeding areas for grassland birds.

Preserve wetlands by buffering them with zones of natural vegetation.

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