A Birding Paradise

Guest post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Addie Carter

One of the main reasons for me wanting to come to Montana is the birding opportunity that I have here. I am no expert birder myself, and I didn’t have a lot of time during or between lectures, but I did manage to get quite a few life birds under my belt. My first day I was really excited to see a ferruginous hawk, not because it’s threatened, but because it’s the largest hawk in North America. Another bird that I was really excited to see were burrowing owls. These owls typically live in old prairie dog burrows, but like ferruginous hawks, their numbers are also in decline. Some of the other highlights included the black-billed magpie, white pelican, upland sandpiper, long-billed curlew, and the western meadowlark. There are many more birds that I’ve seen while here, but if I list them all then it would probably take a whole page.

Montana is a birder's paradise, but that paradise is threatened. Many of these birds have sharply decreased in numbers, and according to Audubon, prairie birds are declining more than any other bird group in North America. There are many different factors that are causing this decline, but they can all be traced back to a human cause.

While out with Dr. McMillan we walked in the cottonwood forest around the base of Devil’s Tower. Here he explained that around 60% of all prairie birds rely on these cottonwood forests for habitat. These forests though are declining because the main tree in it, the cottonwood tree, is no longer able to germinate from new seeds. This is because cottonwoods grow in flood plains and their seeds will only take root in places that have recently been affected by flood. Many rivers in the prairie are being dammed up to prevent these floods, and because of this we are seeing a decrease in this important habitat.

Another habitat that is under threat by humans is the prairie itself. Grazing by cattle, farming, and the decline of important native grass grazers have caused the prairie to drastically change. When we were at cattle feed lots, the majority of the birds that were there were cliff swallows with the occasional magpie sitting around. This was completely different from the great diversity of birds that we saw when we went to Badlands National Park. Around 50% of the different bird species that I have seen were at this location. I personally think this increase in diversity is because of the increase in native grazers. There were bison, prairie dogs, and big horned sheep at this part and all of them create a grassland mosaic. This mosaic is optimal for grassland birds because it provides them a place to nest and forage all in the same area. Prairie dogs provide homes for the burrowing owls and they keep the grass low enough for the owls to easily spot prey. The roaming buffalo are followed behind by a flock of brown-headed cow birds that eat the bugs the bison turn up by walking. By understanding these interactions, between the grazers and the birds, it’s easy to see why a decline in native grazers is causing a decline in the birds.

While I want to be optimistic and say that the decline in grassland birds might stop with the reintroduction of buffalo in certain places on the prairie, I don’t think that is what’s going to happen. The places that the buffalo are being reintroduced are few and far between, and other grazers like prairie dogs are still considered a nuisance animal and killed. The decline in native grazing animals isn’t the only thing these birds have to worry about. As the human population grows many of these birds will lose their habitat in the next couple of decades due to the continued expansion of human land use change. Some migratory birds are still being shot and poisoned, and there’s also a constant increase in the amount that are being hit by cars.  So as I start to learn about the factors that are affecting these birds, I can only say that I am glad I have gotten to see them before they are gone for good.