Mill Creek partners with Audubon Society to restore bobolinks in Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN

A new partnership between Mill Creek MetroParks and the Audubon Society Mahoning Valley aims to boost the survival rate of a bird species that has dwindled in Ohio.

The Grassland Habitat Management Pilot Program will give the grassland-dwelling bobolink bird an opportunity to nest at the MetroParks Farm by delaying the cutting of a pasture area.

“When you cut, you can destroy nesting,” said Audubon Society Mahoning Valley President Jeff Harvey. “By delaying the cutting, we’ll be able to determine if the population is able to increase in a partial area of the grasslands.”

The bobolink is considered a “species of concern” due to its downward-trending population. Surveys have found that the bobolink population is declining at a rate of 4.5 percent per year, according to information provided by the MetroParks.

That’s primarily due to changes to habitats that disrupt the bird’s nesting.

“As farmland returned to forested area or developed into people habitat, they began to lose a lot of their habitats,” explained Carol Vigorito, MetroParks recreation and education director.

Over the last 10 or so years, grassland-dependent birds such as bobolinks have been observed trying to nest at the MetroParks Farm.

“They’re trying, but they’re not successful,” said Harvey.

This program, he hopes, will change that.

Read more about it in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.