| Grassland birds are the most threatened group of birds in North America. Expanding wind energy in the U.S. may be contributing to habitat fragmentation and loss of suitable habitat for grassland birds. I estimated grassland bird density and diversity at three different study sites: grazed grassland with turbines, grazed grassland without wind turbines, and managed grassland (no turbines) interspersed between forest fragments. My study focused on Dickcissels (Spiza americana) and Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna). Dickcissel density was highest in grazed grasslands without turbines, while Eastern Meadowlark density was highest at the site with turbines. Dickcissels exhibited a complex interaction between turbine and grass height: in the presence of turbines they were denser in tall grasses, which coincided with increasing distance, but in the absence of turbines they were distributed uniformly. In contrast, the density of Eastern Meadowlarks appeared relatively unaffected by either vegetation height or presence of turbines. |
