A Place to Nest: Celebrating Private Land Conservation and the Birds that Benefit

Growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, I spent a ton of time fishing, hiking, and exploring the Cleveland Metroparks. The narrow valley of public land acted as an oasis for wildlife and outdoor and nature enthusiasts like me within a matrix of urban/suburban environment. I caught snakes and turtles, illegally brought home toad eggs to raise, and saw an abundance of deer, rabbits, and birds. Needless to say, the importance of public land for wildlife became clear to me at a young age.

Here’s the rub. Ohio is 95.8% privately owned. State, federal, or city managed lands like the Cleveland Metroparks that I enjoyed as a kid represent a tiny percentage of the landscape. That means 95.8% of Ohio is left up to private citizens to decide how they are going to use it. Agriculture? Silviculture? Recreation? Energy development? Shopping malls? Another liposuction billboard? The choice is the landowners. But let's be clear. The success or failure of wildlife conservation in states like Ohio depend on how people use and manage their land. Certainly many landowners choose to ignore wildlife altogether, and in some cases display considerable animosity toward certain species like ground hogs that dig around foundations, raccoons that raid corn fields and trash cans, and woodpeckers that disturb the peace by hammering away on gutters or siding. 

However, many landowners are conservation minded. I have worked with hundreds of farmers and homeowners that plant wildflowers for the bees, avoid mowing during the primary nesting season, and spend the time and money to remove harmful invasive species like bush honeysuckle. So today I thought that we could celebrate private land stewards by taking a look at the fruits of their labors. In this case the fruits are nests and eggs that I have found on well-managed private land in Ohio this spring while working as a wildlife biologist. 

Let's jump in with some ground-nesting birds!

American Woodcock

Holy timberdoodles, Batman! While a landowner and proud conservationist in Williams County Ohio was giving me the "tour" of his farm, we drove into a large field with 50% coverage of low-growing dogwood shrubs and 50% native and introduced grasses. Not far into the field a woodcock exploded out from under the front of the UTV and landed about 50 feet away in a tree line. My heart dropped as I thought that we must have run over the eggs. I got out of the vehicle and walked in the passenger side tracks just to be sure. And there they were. Four absolutely gorgeous unharmed eggs. A full clutch. I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took the photo so that mama could return to incubate her eggs.

The American woodcock is essentially a shorebird that has abandoned the shore. These are birds of the forest. Unlike other upland game birds like turkeys and quail that can have clutches of 15+ eggs, the nest of the woodcock is usually full after the fourth egg is laid (like most shorebirds). These birds prefer to nest in young, shrubby forests, but an old shrubby CRP field did the trick in this case.Woodcock feed on invertebrates (especially worms) by probing the soft, moist soil with their bill which can bend near the tip to help aid in foraging. In spring, woodcocks acrobatically fly and sing in forest openings or old fields as part of an odd and spectacular display of courtship. If you ever hear of someone leading a woodcock walk, don't hesitate to tag along! You won't regret it. 

Field Sparrow

Field Sparrows belong to a group of birds known by birders as LBJs, or Little Brown Jobs. Difficult to identify by sight unless you know what you are looking for and get a good look at one. However, they are kind of the opposite of what lame, old-timey parents thought children should be like as they are often heard but not seen. The cadence of the song was described to me as like that of a ping pong ball dropped on a table: repeating with increased rapidity till it becomes a trill. I found this nest while inspecting a newly established windbreak. The trees were only 12" tall but already the ground that had previously been cropland was supporting wildlife. 

Song Sparrow

Look at those blue beauties! My NRCS supervisor and I found this nest on marginal land buffering a crop field. Song sparrows prefer open woodland/savanna ecosystems but can be found in parks, suburbs, or the edges of woodlots. Nests are made near or on the ground like this one. Nests like this one are often built near a water source (river, wetland, pond, etc.) in 4-5 days before laying begins. Wait 12-15 days and presto my eggs-o: the chicks hatch and just like that the world is more musical! 

Red-Winged Black Bird

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: red-wing black birds are sweet-lookin' feathered fellows! What can I say? Those epaulets just do it for me. 

I found this nest on a filter strip. A narrow strip of vegetation that runs along a ditch or stream to filter out excess nutrients and sediment coming off adjacent crop fields. Constructed about 18" off the ground in some sedges, this nest was well camouflaged to ground nest predators like raccoons. This just goes to show that while the primary purpose of filter strips is to improve water quality, they can also provide excellent benefits for wildlife like grassland birds. 

American Robin

The great synanthrope! The American robin likes what we humans have done with the place (continent). We keep these neighbors of ours satisfied with all the nice nesting locations provided by shade trees, downspouts, awnings, etc and yards full of worms. Some people find them boring since they are so common, but there is something that I can't help but admire about a species that adapts so readily to what spells disaster for others. We don't really need to make room for robins, they find it themselves!

If you consider yourself a good steward of the land, know that the wildlife is grateful for a place on your property to call home!