Field Trip Report: On the Ground in the Grasslands with Birds Canada

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By Janet Hill

In early June, I joined a team of a dozen Birds Canada experts, volunteers and friends on a grasslands conservation tour. It was an adventure designed to highlight conservation programs, meet partners, and of course see some amazing birds. I came home with indelible memories and a strengthened understanding of how Birds Canada is using science, innovation and partnership to drive grasslands bird conservation.

“There he is!”. We’ve been driving west from Regina, Saskatchewan past oceans of cropland and have arrived here near Swift Current at Cave Pasture, a 300 hectare area of native grassland protected forever by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. High overhead, a small, brown bird is fluttering in a wide circle, intermittently bursting into song. It’s a Sprague’s Pipit, and his territorial display may go on for half an hour or more. Sprague’s Pipits are grassland specialists, so they are totally dependent on this habitat. They’re only found in mixed-grass prairie and it’s the only place they can live. With native grasslands disappearing, populations of Sprague’s Pipits have declined by 90% since 1970. It’s moments like this when it really hits you – if we lose grasslands, we lose Sprague’s Pipit and so much more. Grasslands are an endangered ecosystem, and the birds that depend on them are declining faster than any other bird group in Canada.

Grasslands are an endangered ecosystem, and the birds that depend on them are declining faster than any other bird group in Canada. Photo: Janet Hill

About 150 km south of Swift Current, we reach the west block of Grasslands National Park. Like all our national parks, it’s a treasure, and one that I wish everyone could see. We spot Long-billed Curlews, Lark Buntings, Thick-billed Longspurs, Western Meadowlarks, Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and Plains Bison as we make our way at dawn to the site of a spectacular and ancient ritual. Sharp-tailed Grouse have met here for countless generations to dance on their lekking ground. Watching them posing and whirling in perfect synchronicity is an unforgettable experience. The males twirl and stamp their feet with heads down, purple neck patches bared, wings arched, and white tails held high while the females look on with a critical eye from the edges of the dance floor. Sharp-tailed Grouse don’t migrate so they will spend their entire lives in this grassland habitat.

Western Meadowlark. Photo: Janet Hill

Plains Bison. Photo: Janet Hill

Sharp-tailed Grouse. Photo: Janet Hill

Arriving at the east block of the national park, our van skitters to a halt on a gravel road after someone spots a bird on a fence post. A Burrowing Owl! These small owls are listed as endangered in Canada. They don’t dig their own burrows but live and raise their young in burrows dug by other grasslands residents like badgers – another link in a complex web of relationships in the grasslands. There’s a strip of orange tape tied around the post, which I learn was put there to mark the location of this owl’s precious little home, so it isn’t damaged by road maintenance equipment. It’s a reminder to me that conservation efforts come in all sizes.

The protected grasslands of the national park are magical, but we’re also here to see critical grasslands bird habitat provided by working landscapes, where grazing services are provided by cattle rather than bison. So, we leave the park and head further east past buttes and badlands, rolling hills, pasture and cropland, spotting and counting birds as we go.

Burrowing Owl. Photo: Janet Hill

Near the village of Lake Alma and the southern edge of Saskatchewan, we visit the home of ranchers Ross MacDonald and Christine Peters, who are partnering with Birds Canada in the Bird Friendliness Index (BFI) initiative. The BFI quantifies biodiversity impacts and provides a way for landowners to monitor their efforts and communicate their results. At Ross and Christine’s place (98 Ranch), results of their efforts to restore and preserve grassland are evident everywhere on their property. Detailed surveys of their ranch by the Birds Canada grasslands team show that the density of Chestnut-collared Longspurs is 20 times higher on this property than in the surrounding area. Twenty times! I had read that number in a report previously but standing here under the huge blue canopy of prairie sky seeing and hearing these birds all around me really brings it home.

Our grasslands journey comes to an end with strengthened partnerships, 114 species on the team’s collective ebird trip report, and vivid memories of stunning landscapes, the sounds of fluttering wings and birdsong, and the scent of sage. I am grateful to the dedicated Birds Canada team and partners that are putting science to work in protecting grasslands and reversing the decline of bird species that depend on these places. As a donor and a volunteer for Birds Canada, I am proud to support this critical work. The clock is ticking for grassland birds, and after this amazing experience, I am more convinced than ever that there is hope if we continue to act.

If you would like to take your interest in our Grasslands work further, click here to learn more about our Grasslands project and the Bird-Friendly Index or make a donation to Birds Canada to fund projects like this!

Janet Hill, Ph.D

Janet is a Director on the Birds Canada Board of Directors. Janet has a background in Biology and Microbiology. She is Professor and Department Head of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology at University of Saskatchewan. She’s a passionate bird enthusiast, Great Canadian Birdathon supporter and has participated in Project FeederWatch since 2016.