Grassland birds as a group are declining more steeply than birds in any other biome in North America. The Eastern and Western Meadowlark, iconic indicator species of grassland habitats, have declined by more than 70% and 40% respectively in the last 50 years. Declines have been hypothesized to be caused by agricultural intensification and habitat loss on both breeding and wintering grounds. Nationwide, survey efforts have been underway to better identify optimal conservation measures for the preservation of grassland birds, like the meadowlark, and their habitats. Although these monitoring protocols allow researchers to quantify occupancy, diversity and abundance of grassland birds, these efforts have focused primarily on breeding season events. To adequately understand the drivers of decline and protect these iconic species we need to know where individuals spend the full annual cycle.
Eastern Meadowlark. Photo by Bernadette Rigley.
As demonstrated in other species, this information can be elucidated using GPS and satellite technology that tracks movement patterns of individuals throughout the year. However, there has been little research on the movement ecology of Eastern and Western Meadowlarks. So in 2019, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and Virginia Working Landscapes started a tracking study of a population of Eastern Meadowlarks in the Piedmont region of VA which breed in predominantly privately-owned grasslands. Knowing which habitats meadowlarks use at different times of year is critical for developing best management practices that support populations throughout the full annual cycle. Moreover, sharing this information relating to meadowlark populations and their year-round habitat needs with private landowners is essential for developing successful conservation strategies moving forward.
In 2022, the Migratory Connectivity Project expanded the Virginia Piedmont tracking study to a range-wide tracking effort of Eastern and Western Meadowlarks to identify if and where breeding individuals migrate and spend the non-breeding season. This will enable us to gain a better understanding of meadowlark movement ecology across eastern and western populations to elucidate the range-wide migratory connectivity of two species of native meadowlarks, including a comparative analysis of western vs. eastern populations, an understanding of the habitats meadowlarks use throughout the year, and tests of the drivers of migratory phenotype at a continental scale.
Setting up nets and a decoy to capture meadowlarks. Photo by Amy Johnson.
Researchers fitting an Eastern Meadowlark with a tracking device. Photo by Allison Huysman.
This year MCP with the help of collaborators from 13 institutions (see below), deployed 68 tags across 12 sites in the United States. Eastern and Western meadowlarks received Lotek Argos-GPS pinpoint tags which collect one weekly GPS locations for one full year (July 2022-June 2023). Meadowlarks are starting to migrate to their wintering grounds! Stay tuned for updates.
Eastern Meadowlark with tag. Photo by October Greenfield.
Collaborator, institution, and study site:
- Amy Scarpignato, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Virginia
- Amy Johnson & Bernadette Rigley, Smithsonian Virginia Working Landscapes, Virginia
- Andy Johnson, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Montana & North Dakota
- Maggie Blake, University of Montana, Montana
- Susan Felege, University of North Dakota, North Dakota
- Zoe Warner, Shelly Eshleman, & Lisa Kiziuk, Willistown Conservation Trust, Pennsylvania
- Jason Hill & Kevin Tolan, Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Vermont
- Alice Boyle, Kansas State University (EAME & WEME)
- Michael Ward & Julie Bozzo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
- Kevin Ellison, American Bird Conservancy, South Dakota
- Brandt Ryder, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Colorado
- Jeremy Ross, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma
- Sarah Rockwell & Jamie Stephens, Klamath Bird Observatory, Oregon
- Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
- Peter Marra, Georgetown University
- Jim Giacomo & Jane Fitzgerald, American Bird Conservancy
