Master of Science / Department of Biology / Brett K. Sandercock / The native grasslands of North America are highly fragmented, and remaining tracts are intensively managed for grazing. Loss of tallgrass prairie and changing land management practices has caused many grassland birds that rely on these areas for breeding to decline in population numbers. To investigate resource selection and area use requirements of the upland sandpiper, we outfitted birds with radio transmitters at the experimentally managed Konza Prairie Biological Station in northeast Kansas. Two logistical challenges for wildlife telemetry projects are: minimizing the impact of radios on survival and movement, and optimizing the duration of transmitter attachment. We compared 4 methods of radio attachment for upland sandpipers under field conditions at breeding sites in tallgrass prairie. The daily probabilities of radio retention (DRR) for our 4 attachment methods were: 0.9992 (SE = 0.0005, n = 85) for a leg loop harness, 0.9801 (SE = 0.0099, n = 11) for radios glued to clipped feathers, 0.9627 (SE = 0.0085, n = 25) for radios glued directly to feathers and 0.8538 (SE = 0.0322, n = 20) for radios glued to plucked skin. The expected duration of radio attachment ranged from 1290 days for the leg loop harness, and 6 to 50 days for the glue attachment techniques. Survival rates of males (DSR = 0.9987, SE = 0.0009, n = 53) and females (DSR = 0.9988, SE = 0.0008, n = 71) were similar, and the probability of surviving the 90-day breeding season was about 0.90 in both sexes. We recommend attaching radios with glue to clipped feathers for short-term telemetry studies and a leg loop harness if longer retention is desired. The unique landscape of Konza Prairie allowed us to investigate specific tallgrass management strategies, and their impact on the range and habitat requirements of a bird that relies on the prairie for breeding. We found that upland sandpipers have large home ranges during the breeding season (male: = 199.0 ha ± 40.5 SE, n = 21, female: = 247.7 ha ± 51.7 SE, n = 23). Male home ranges were twice as large during brood-rearing ( = 200.8 ha ± 69.1 SE, n = 9) than during the nesting period ( = 67.02 ha ± 11.84 SE, n = 14, 1 = 5.14, P = 0.023). Upland sandpipers selected home range sites that had been burned the same spring (n = 44, ²3 = 31.65, P < 0.001), but did not show preference for certain habitat types within their home range ( ²3 = 1.49, P = 0.685). During brood rearing upland sandpipers used sites with higher percentages of bare ground, herbaceous and short woody vegetation, and low amounts of vegetative litter. Management strategies for the upland sandpiper should seek to preserve large contiguous tracts of tallgrass prairie that receive a heterogeneous mix of burning and grazing.

Few studies have measured the impacts of mowing on bird use of habitat and the risk of bird collisions with aircraft on North American airfields. The need for this research has increased as airfields become some of the only large contiguous grasslands available to rare migratory birds in some areas. I studied bird abundance, distribution and behaviors at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, USA in June and July 2004. I compared my data with bird strike records to discern any patterns associated with mowing of airfield vegetation. There was no difference in total number of birds or species between mowed and unmowed plots adjacent to runways and taxiways. There were more Upland Sandpipers and Eastern Meadowlarks in mowed vegetation and more sparrows (Grasshopper and Savannah) in unmowed vegetation. From 1997 to 2005, swallows were the birds most often struck by aircraft in June and July at Westover, and were also the second most numerous birds in both mowed and unmowed plots. Bird species that pose high Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) risk at Westover included Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Great Blue Heron, and Canada Goose. I did not observe those species in paired plots of mowed or unmowed airfield vegetation adjacent to runways and taxiways at Westover. I opportunistically observed 64 incidents where species that pose high BASH risk were in or adjacent to areas where aircraft operate. Birds struck most frequently at Westover between April 1997 and January 2005 were “swallows”, American Kestrel, Killdeer, Horned Lark, Eastern Meadowlark, and Mourning Dove. Current mowing practices at Westover may have adverse effects on Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow, both state-listed, rare, grassland birds, but may not measurably reduce overall risk to aircraft, given the continued presence of large, high BASH risk species. I recommend methods to reduce threats posed by high-risk species at Westover, and further research to seek ways to reduce adverse effects of mowing on state-listed, rare, migratory species of birds.