Henslow's Sparrow
Common
Name: Henslow’s Sparrow (HESP)
Scientific
Name:
Ammodramus henslowii
Global/Continental
Conservation Status: IUCN
2004 Red List – NT (Near Threatened)
National-level
Conservation Status:
Canada
- Species at Risk Act (SARA) – Endangered;
U.S.
– Bird of Conservation Concern
Key
Reference(s):
BNA No. 672 (Herkert et al. 2002); FWS Species Status Assessment
(Pruitt 1996); Northern
Prairie
Wildlife
Research
Center
Document (Herkert 2003); Canadian Recovery Plan (Austen et al. 1993)
Distribution:
Breeds from se South Dakota, se Minnesota, n-c Wisconsin, n
Michigan, s Ontario, n New York and s Quebec south to c Kansas, ne
Oklahoma, sw and c Missouri, s Illinois, n Kentucky, c West Virginia, e
Virginia, n Tennessee and c and e North Carolina (breeding range in nw and
e portions has decreased recently); winters in coastal states from South
Carolina south to s Florida and west to Arkansas and se TX, casually both
north and south (AOU 1998)
Habitat
Associations:
Open fields & meadows w/ grass interspersed w/ weeds or shrubby
veg, esp in damp or low-lying areas; in migration or winter - also in
grassy areas adjacent to pine woods or second-growth woodlands (AOU 1998);
variously described also in PIF plans as – pocosin grasslands,
agricultural grasslands, reclaimed mine site grasslands, old fields,
unmowed pastures, airport margins, etc.
Source(s)
of Research/monitoring Needs (Number in ( ) is Physiographic Area number):
Mid Atlantic Coastal Plain Bird Conservation Plan (44); South
Atlantic Coastal Plain Bird Conservation Plan (03); East Gulf Coastal
Plain Bird Conservation Plan (04); Peninsular Florida Bird Conservation
Plan (02); Mississippi Alluvial Valley Bird Conservation Plan (05);
Prairie Peninsula Bird Conservation Plan (31); Dissected Till Plains Bird
Conservation Plan (32); Osage Plains Bird Conservation Plan (33); Mid
Atlantic Piedmont Bird Conservation Plan (10); Lower Great Lakes Plain
Bird Conservation Plan (15); Northern Ridge & Valley Bird Conservation
Plan (17); Mid Atlantic Ridge & Valley Bird Conservation Plan (12);
Upper Great Lakes Plain Bird Conservation Plan (16); Allegheny Plateau
Bird Conservation Plan (24); St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Plan
(18); Ohio Hills Bird Conservation Plan (22); Canadian Action Plan (Dunn
2002); Texas Avian Research Projects –TARP (Texas Partners in Flight
2001); BNA No. 672 (Herkert et al. 2002); PIF Monitoring Needs document
(Partners in Flight Science Committee 2004)
PIF
Continental Plan Monitoring Needs Category: Mo2
(BBS trends have very low precision)
RESEARCH/MONITORING NEEDS (source(s) of needs)
Monitoring
- Priority
monitoring action – Improve the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) (PIF
Monitoring Needs doc)
- Second
priority monitoring action – Conduct new winter surveys (PIF
Monitoring Needs doc)
- Supplemental
HESP Monitoring
- Targeted monitoring system for high-marsh species (including HESP)
to better evaluate population trends (Mid Atlantic Coastal Plain);
Design/implement more intensive monitoring to evaluate success/failure
of conservation measures to bolster HESP (Prairie Peninula; Dissected
Till Plains); Develop targeted, supplemental Inventory &
Monitoring programs to identify important breeding sites &
document regional population levels, trends, & patterns in
abundance (Northern Ridge & Valley; Mid Atlantic Ridge &
Valley; Allegheny Plateau; Mid Atlantic Piedmont, Lower Great Lakes
Plains, St Lawrence Plain, Osage Plains); Develop monitoring program
for priority species (including HESP) occurring at Important Bird
Areas (Allegheny Plateau); Continue species-specific searches of
suitable habitat for HESP (Canadian Action Plan); Inventory HESP in
Kentucky & Tennessee (East Gulf Coastal Plain); Determine status
of HESP in this region (Mississippi Alluvial Valley)
- Determine
the causes of local population fluctuations and if populations at
larger scales (regional) also fluctuate and how much (BNA)
- More
information on the dynamics of HESP dispersal and colonization among
sites (Osage Plains)
- Inventory
of existing grassland habitats to identify important sites for HESP
(Mid Atlantic Piedmont, Lower Great Lakes Plain; St Lawrence Plain;
Ohio Hills)
Habitat Needs/Ecology/Life History
- Habitat
requirements of the saltmarsh species suite (including HESP) (Mid
Atlantic Coastal Plain)
- More
natural history information (mating system, mass of eggs, details of
fledgling period, annual reprod success, number of breeds per female
per season) (BNA)
- Determine
characteristics of sites w/ potential to support source populations
(using demographic factors) (Mid Atlantic Piedmont; Mid Atlantic Ridge
& Valley; Allegheny Plateau; Northern Ridge & Valley; St
Lawrence Plain; Ohio Hills)/
- Determine
precise habitat & area needs of HESP in these regions (Lower Great
Lakes Plain; Northern Ridge & Valley; Mid Atlantic Ridge &
Valley; Allegheny Plateau; St Lawrence Plain; Ohio Hills; Mid Atlantic
Pidemont)
- Are
there differences in HESP abundance in warm season and cool season
grasses? (Lower Great Lakes Plain)
Effects of Management Practices
- Fire
ecology of HESP
– Effects of prescribed burning on prairie birds (including
wintering HESP) (Peninsular Florida); Effects of fire reduction on
HESP populations (and other species) at a landscape level (TARP - West
Gulf Coastal Plains); Effects of annual burns across large landscapes
on HESP populations (Osage Plains)
- Effects
of preserve size on HESP (Canadian Action Plan)
- Determine
how management practices influence reproductive success (not just
abundance) (BNA)
- Identify
best management practices for HESP for this region (Mid Atlantic
Piedmont)
- Effects
of agricultural practices
- Effects of specific farming & management practices on breeding
productivity (MidAtl Pied AND N R&V AND MidAtl R&V AND Allegh
Plat AND OH Hills - RD); Impacts of mowing, grazing, and haying on
intact HESP populations (Canadian Action Plan); Investigate intensive
rotational grazing for opportunities for grassland birds including
HESP (Upper Great Lakes Plains)
- Study
different management techniques to determine the best methods for
maintaining suitable habitat for HESP (Lower Great Lakes Plains;
Allegheny Plateau; St Lawrence Plains; Ohio Hills)
Landscape
- Identify
optimal landscape design to accommodate diverse needs of high priority
birds in grassland, shrubland, and forest habitats (Lower Great Lake
Plains)
- Identify
large areas of grasslands as targets for conservation and restoration;
apply GIS models developed for grassland birds in other ecoregions
(Upper Great Lakes Plains)
Wintering
- Determine
percentage of HESP population that depends on grasslands in winter
(test the “1/3 assumption”) (South Atlantic Coastal Plain)
- Determine
importance of native pockets of blackland prairies in West Gulf
Coastal Plain to wintering HESP (and as other wintering grassland spp);
address site fidelity, density, habitat quality, vegetation, burn
history, prairie size (TARP - West Gulf Coastal Plain)
- Determine
why HESP appear to occupy open grasslands more regularly than more
forested areas? Floristics?
Habitat structure? Litter?
Plant composition? (TARP –
West
Gulf
Coastal Plain)
- Develop
management protocols for HESP during winter (
Mississippi
Alluvial
Valley
)
- Wintering
distribution, habitat requirements, and responses to grassland
management practices by HESP (TARP - Coastal Prairies & West Gulf
Coastal Plains)
Invasives/Exotics/Disease/Parasites/Contaminants
- Assess
potential impacts of invasive plants on salt-marsh species (including
HESP) (Mid Atlantic Coastal Plains)
Demographics
- Determine
factors influencing occurrences & reproductive success of HESP
(South Atlantic Coastal Plain)
- Demography
of HESP (Canadian Action Plan)
- Studies
of banded individuals (site fidelity, survivorship, life span,
dispersal) (BNA)
- Demographic
studies to determine causes of population declines (Lower Great Lakes
Plains)
Global Change
- Assess
potential impacts of sea-level rise on salt-marsh species (including
HESP) (Mid Atlantic Coastal Plain)
Genetics/Taxonomy/Systematics
- Study
of genetics, plumage, morphometrics to determine if eastern and
western populations have mixed or one subspecies dominates current
distribution (BNA)
[Link
to References]
[Link
to PIF Bird Conservation Plans]
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