[obol] [Fwd: Negative developments for Streaked Horned Larks & Vesper Sparrows in s. Polk Co.]

From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:37:40 -0700
Hi all,

This morning after wrapping up surveys, I visited Priem Rd. in southern
Polk Co. (off of Maple Grove Rd. a few miles north of Airlie), to see
how it looks this year.

Last year the fields and grasslands along this road produced one of Polk
County's few breeding-season reports of Oregon Vesper Sparrows, and also
hosted a few Streaked Horned Larks. About a week ago, Brandon Wagner
mentioned that he had heard a couple of HORNED LARKS singing near the
top of the hill, which was intriguing since usually I've heard them
lower down.

When I arrived, I found a crew installing a high deer fence with steel
posts and a big gate along the north side of the lower stretch of road,
where I've usually heard larks. That field had been mowed off and there
was a wheel-line irrigation rig at one end, so this year it seems to be
in use as a hay field. 

However, it's hard to imagine that a farmer would spend that much money
on a deer fence to protect a hay field. More likely, this is the first
stage of a conversion of this property to industrial-scale viticulture,
by the California-based company which is said to have bought this
property a couple of years ago.

Higher up, in the area where Brandon had detected a couple of Horned
Larks, the whole hillside (which used to be an old-pasture type of
grassland), has been tilled up, and a similar gate has been built
(though no fence yet). In the area close to the road, it looks like
someone has recently run a rolling packer over the tilled-up area,
perhaps to seed in some kind of cover crop. 

My guess is that the larks were drawn in to the open ground that was
created by the first phase of tillage earlier, but it's doubtful that
any nests would have survived the use of a rolling packer. I didn't hear
any larks singing while I was there (though granted it was getting kind
of late in the day, at 09:30).

I should be clear, there is nothing illegal about a landowner squashing
Streaked Horned Lark nests in the course of this kind of ag land
conversion, despite the recent listing of these birds as "Threatened"
under the Endangered Species Act. The way the listing decision was
written, "normal agricultural operations" are exempted, and these are
defined very broadly.

I do suggest that it will be worthwhile for birders to keep tabs on
these types of impacts as they occur. During the public-comment period
for the listing decision, a few of us raised concerns about the impacts
of trends toward expanded viticulture in Horned Lark (and Vesper
Sparrow) habitat. USFWS argued that the impacts would be negligible,
based on the relatively small acreage of vineyards, and the idea that
vineyards are seldom constructed in prime habitat for larks. 

Hopefully they will turn out to be right, but it seems wise for
conservation-minded birders to start recording observations that can be
used to test that argument.

If you're interested in helping to monitor impacts of these and other 
types of land-use conversions on Horned Lark nesting habitat in the 
Willamette Valley, I'll be very glad to hear from you. The hope was to 
have an organized program in place for this breeding season, but the 
calendar kind of got away from us so the main effort will need to wait 
until next year. Still, it's never too early to start keeping notes, 
and developing plans for next year.

Good birding,
Joel

P.S.  I did hear a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER singing away in a dense
grove of young conifers that have sprouted up on the south side of Priem
Rd. -- kind of a surprising place to hear one.

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis






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[obol] [Fwd: Negative developments for Streaked Horned Larks & Vesper Sparrows in s. Polk Co.]

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