Western Meadowlark (Sturnella Neglecta) Sarah Coury Status: Special Concern (MNFI)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) Sarah Coury Status: Special Concern (MNFI)
Berrien Co., MI 5/10/2007 © Caleb Putnam (View comparison of Atlas I & II)
Throughout prairies, farmland and on roadsides Although the species seems to have modestly across much of America, the arrival of spring is expanded its range in the UP since MBBA I, the announced by the rich flute-like song of the distribution of Western Meadowlarks in Western Meadowlark. First documented in Michigan’s LP has continued to contract. The 1805 in the journal of Meriwether Lewis as his SLP showed 18 counties recently void of expedition made its way across Montana, this Western Meadowlarks, probably due to longtime avian symbol of the frontier has since increasing habitat fragmentation and changes in been steadily expanding eastward. Its current agricultural land use. The trend is most range extends from the Pacific Ocean to apparent in the NLP, where the number of northwestern New York, and from central counties reporting the species was reduced by Alberta and Saskatchewan to the northern half half. Whereas all nine NLP counties along Lake of Mexico. Though plentiful in many of these Michigan found Western Meadowlarks during areas, the Western Meadowlark is listed as a MBBA I, only Oceana reported a possible species of special concern in Michigan. sighting during MBBA II.
Distribution Granlund (1991) stated that the high First confirmed in Michigan’s UP in 1894 concentration of MBBA I observations in the (Wood 1951), the Western Meadowlark is a northwestern NLP was perhaps due to the many comparatively new summer resident in the Great expansive hayfields remaining in the region at Lakes region. During the period of the 1930s that time. In recent years, however, the area has through the 1950s, this species flourished experienced a 1-2% forest cover increase throughout the Midwest and breeding pairs were annually due to old field succession, and documented consistently in most counties of the continuing parcelization of private land has state (Lanyon 1956). From the 1960s to the resulted in ever shrinking agricultural lots (K. time of MBBA I, however, Michigan’s Western Kintigh, DNRE, pers. comm.). As Western Meadowlark populations were found to be in Meadowlarks in the Midwest have been found steady decline. Similar rates, between 4-9%, to require a minimum of 2-15 hectares (5-37 were recorded in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, acres) of open grassy habitat for nesting Ohio and Ontario (Lanyon 1994). (Dechant et al. 2003), these factors may explain contractions in the region.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) Sarah Coury Status: Special Concern (MNFI) Breeding Biology management for Western Meadowlarks and all In the upper Midwest, male Western grassland species in Michigan must include the Meadowlarks arrive and begin defending preservation of these open landscapes. territories throughout March and early April, Changing use of agricultural acreage, such as with females following within two to four conversion of pastures and hayfields to corn and weeks (Leckie 2007, Niemuth 2006). Females soybeans is another factor reducing suitable begin nest construction about one week later. habitat throughout the Midwest (Askins 2000). Two broods of young may be raised, with final Additional threats to these ground-nesting birds fledge dates in early August. Males often have include the mowing of hayfields during the two concurrent mates, with females alone nesting season, application of pesticides, building nests, incubating, and assuming a much trampling by livestock, predation by domestic greater role in care and feeding of nestlings cats, and Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism. (Lanyon 1994). Western Meadowlarks are known to be extremely sensitive to human disturbance of Abundance and Population Trends breeding territories, which often results in the (Click to view trends from the BBS) abandonment of nests with eggs (Lanyon 1994). Breeding Bird Survey estimates for the Western Meadowlark in Michigan from 1990 to 2007 Prairie restoration initiatives, as well as efforts indicate a population trend of -7.3% per year. to educate private landowners on wildlife Due to the small sample size of Michigan BBS management techniques have increased recordings for the species, however, this decline dramatically throughout the Great Lakes region is not considered significant. During MBBA II, in recent years, which is a vital step toward Western Meadowlarks were found in 64 atlas ensuring the continuing occurrence, and perhaps blocks (0.89%), down from 140 (1.98%) during future abundance, of Western Meadowlarks in MBBA I. Of the 64 observations, 52 were Michigan. “possible,” nine were “probable,” and three – from Muskegon County in the LP and Literature Citations Menominee and Ontonagon Counties in the UP Askins, R.A. 2000. Restoring North America’s – were breeding confirmations. Western birds: lessons from landscape ecology. Yale Meadowlark nests are well concealed, and the University Press, New Haven, Connecticut. difficulty of finding them often results in a low Dechant, J.A., M.L. Sondreal, D.H. Johnson, number of breeding confirmations for the L.D. Igl, C.M. Goldade, A.L. Zimmerman, species. From MBBA I to MBBA II, and B.R. Euliss. 2003. Effects of observations went up from 19 to 28 in the UP, management practices on grassland birds: and down from 61 to 25 in the SLP. The Western Meadowlark. Northern Prairie greatest declines were seen in the NLP, where Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND. observations dropped from 60 to 11. In addition Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center to actual declines, reduced effort in the NLP Online. may account for the drop in observations.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) Sarah Coury Status: Special Concern (MNFI) Lanyon, W.E. 1956. Ecological aspects of the sympatric distribution of meadowlarks in the north-central states. Ecology 37: 98-108. Lanyon, W.E. 1994. In The Birds of North America, No.104. (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, USA. Leckie, S. 2007. Western Meadowlark. In Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and A.R. Couturier (eds.). 2007. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Niemuth, N. 2006. Western Meadowlark. In Cutright, N.J., B.R. Harriman, and R.W. Howe (eds.). 2006. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. Waukesha, WI. Sargent, M.S. and Carter, K.S., ed. 1999. Managing Michigan Wildlife: A Landowners Guide. Michigan United Conservation Clubs, East Lansing, Michigan. Wood, N.A. 1951. The Birds of Michigan. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center