Partnership between MetroParks and Audubon Society aims to boost bobolink survival

April 27, 2017 at 12:06a.m.

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.

The MetroParks will set aside three acres out of a 10-acre pasture at the farm. Normally, the pasture is cut several times a year. This year the park will delay the first cutting of that area until July 4, giving the birds a chance to build nests in the high grass. That time period, during which the Audubon Society will conduct weekly surveys, coincides with the bird’s nesting period.

Also as part of the program, the Audubon Society will donate $1,000 to the MetroParks for installation of educational signs near the pasture that will be used.

Harvey said he hopes the initiative will help boost the bird’s survival in Ohio.

“If we can even have a small grasslands that breeds bobolinks, it’ll help the population,” he said.