Decoy plantings for reducing blackbird damage to nearby commercial sunflower fields

Cummings, John L.; Guarino, Joseph L.; Knittle, C. Edward; Royall, Willis C.

doi:10.1016/0261-2194(87)90029-9

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Seven of the 12 top models contained only within-field habitat metrics and the top four model averaged scores were from within-field metrics. Contrary to results describing response of blackbirds to surrounding landscape variables reported by Hagy et al (2008) and Cummings et al (1987), non-blackbird avian species may select crop fields using proximate cues within-fields rather than landscape composition at the 2.4 km scale in our study area. In east-central North Dakota, abundant wetlands, grasslands and agricultural fields may facilitate a selection response to the region (in this case, our ,60,000 km 2 study area) rather than small subunits of the landscape, such as our 2.4 km site area.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 52%

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Wildlife Conservation Sunflower Plots and Croplands as Fall Habitat for Migratory Birds

Hagy

Linz

Bleier

2010

The American Midland Naturalist

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ABSTRACT.-Agricultural fields are often overlooked as post-breeding and migratory bird habitat, even though many species use row-crop fields in the northern Great Plains. We monitored bird use, crop and non-crop vegetation characteristics and abundance, and land use around (#2.4 km) 35 8-ha Wildlife Conservation Sunflower Plots (WCSP) and one commercial sunflower and non-sunflower row-crop field, paired with each WCSP, in fall 2004 and 2005. We excluded four species of blackbirds from our analysis that commonly form large foraging flocks and ubiquitously use agricultural fields. A diverse community of migratory birds used WCSP and commercial sunflower compared to other non-sunflower crops in North Dakota. Both WCSP (mean 5 24.4 birds/ha, SE 5 2.7) and commercial sunflower (mean 5 12.7 birds/ha, SE 5 1.7) harbored greater densities of birds (P , 0.01) than did other non-sunflower row crops (mean 5 7.2 birds/ha, SE 5 1.1). Migratory birds were more strongly associated with vegetation within fields, such as crop density (+), non-crop plant abundance (+) and crop height (+), than surrounding land uses (0-2.4 km from WCSP). We recommend management practices to maximize WCSP for fall bird habitat and discuss economic considerations for WCSP implementation as a wildlife habitat / blackbird damage management system.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…In late summer 2004 and 2005, we visually surveyed and delineated all major land-uses within 2.4 km of each WCSP (Cummings et al, 1987;Cunningham and Johnson, 2006). We obtained aerial photography from the USDA-NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway (USDA, 2005) and manually overlaid land use data within 2.4 km of each WCSP in ArcMap (ESRI, 2004).…”

Section: Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife Conservation Sunflower Plots and Croplands as Fall Habitat for Migratory Birds

Hagy

Linz

Bleier

2010

The American Midland Naturalist

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“…Such 'lure crops' have been used for years in North America to reduce waterfowl damage to maturing small-grain crops (Knittle & Porter 1988). Such plantings also have shown promise for reducing Red-winged Blackbird damage to nearby commercial sunflower fields (Cummings et al 1987).…”

Section: Alternative Foodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ornithology and integrated pest management: Red‐winged BlackbirdsAgelaius phoeniceusand corn

Dolbeer¹

1990

Ibis

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Red‐winged Blackbirds Agelaius phoeniceus, the most abundant bird in North America, annually destroy over 360 000 tonnes of field corn and substantial amounts of sweet corn. This loss, representing <1% of North American corn production, is localized within 8 km of wetlands where Red‐winged Blackbirds roost in late summer. Red‐winged Blackbirds are often initially attracted to corn fields to feed on insect pests during the 2–3 week period between silking and kernel development. An ideal resolution of the conflict between corn farmers and Red‐winged Blackbirds is to couple the birds' beneficial feeding habits in silking‐stage corn with management techniques to reduce subsequent damage to kernels. Once birds switch from feeding on insects to feeding on corn, protective measures to reduce damage are more critical in the early (milk) stages of kernel development than later because the damage potential is much higher at this time. Birds must eat three times more kernels at 20 days after silking than at 40 days in order to receive the same corn biomass. The use of bird‐resistant cultivars of corn, the deployment of frightening devices during the critical damage period, and the provision of alternative feeding sites are important components of an integrated management programme. The goal is to accommodate Red‐winged Blackbirds as a part of the wetland‐agricultural complex in North America.

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“…A perennial sunflower variety may be developed that could be used as an alternative food source for birds and reduce the cost of WCFP (Kantar et al 2014;Linz et al 2014). Planting diversity, crop varieties, plant spacing, planting times, field size, and plot locations are research avenues that can be explored to increase the cost-effectiveness of WCFP (Cummings et al 1987;Hagy et al 2008).…”

Section: Evading Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Blackbird Management Research

Klug¹

2017

Ecology and Management of Blackbirds (Icteridae) in North America

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Human society values birds for their intrinsic and aesthetic value as well as the ecosystem services they provide as pollinators, consumers of pests, and distributors of nutrients and seeds (Wenny et al. 2011). At the same time, conflict between birds and humans is an age-old phenomenon that has persisted as society has transformed and the scale of agriculture has expanded (Conover 2002). Managing conflict between birds and agriculture is challenging for many reasons. Foremost, the need to consider both human welfare and conservation of protected bird species is paramount, with nonlethal management methods preferred to lethal measures from societal, economical, and ecological standpoints (Miller 2007; Linz et al. 2015). Second, methods must be effective, practical, and economical for agricultural implementation. Finally, management methods must overcome characteristics that make birds difficult to manage including uncertainty in population estimates, fecundity, mobility, and adaptive behaviors. All challenges are compounded when attempting to establish management methods that fit within modern agricultural practices, while simultaneously supporting conservation efforts to protect wildlife. Labor-saving devices and methodologies resulting from agricultural advances in mechanical, chemical, genetic, and information technologies have facilitated a shift to larger crop fields, a broader range of suitable habitat for a variety of crops, and consolidated farms in North America (MacDonald et al. 20(3). This shift to large. less labor-intensive farms has supported the ability to feed an ever-increasing human population but has complicated the relationship between humans and wildlife. Modern agriculture directly impacts wildlife by altering natural habitat. resulting in the increase of species able to thrive in agricultural landscapes and the decline of species unable to adapt. Thus. agriculture often provides increased carrying capacity for species responsible for 217

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Decoy plantings for reducing blackbird damage to nearby commercial sunflower fields

Cited by 22 publications

References 4 publications

Wildlife Conservation Sunflower Plots and Croplands as Fall Habitat for Migratory Birds

Wildlife Conservation Sunflower Plots and Croplands as Fall Habitat for Migratory Birds

Ornithology and integrated pest management: Red‐winged BlackbirdsAgelaius phoeniceusand corn

The Future of Blackbird Management Research

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