Wildlife Management Plan :: management of grassland birds

COVER The vegetation on this property is classified into 7 cover types (Fig. 3 and Appendix B). The property is largely dominated by agricultural land. Approximately 350 ac (141 ha) out of the 410 ac (165 ha) are cultivated for crop production. The dominant four crop types are soybeans, alfalfa, corn, and oats. The overstory consists of white oak (Quercus alba), black walnut (Jugalns nigra), and American elm (Ulmus americana). The shrub layer is sparsely located around the property and contains a lot of blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), American halzelnut (Corylus americana), and staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina). The understory vegetation, located in the wooded areas on the property consists of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), common plaintain (Plantago major), mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), grasses (Poa spp.), Mosses (Sphagnum spp.), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), common mullein (V erbacum thaspus). A complete list of plant species can be found in Appendix B. STATUS OF WILDLIFE POPULATIONS: Inventory techniques used to identify wildlife consisted of direct observations, input from the landowner, and signs from the different wildlife species. Common bird species present on the management area were American robin (Turdus americanus), American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), sandhill crane (Grus canadensis), blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata), white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), bald eagle (Hallaeetus leucocephalus), turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), and red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Direct observations and input from the landowner identified these commonly found mammalian species: eastern chipmunk, (Tamias striatus), eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), coyote (Canis latrans), raccoon (Procyon lotor), red fox Vulpes vulpes), red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus f loridanus), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginianus). Within our management property western meadowlarks and badgers are not as commonly found as white-tail deer. Grassland bird species are limited to small parcels of the property due to a lack of necessary habitat. Badgers have been seen on an infrequent basis within the management site. White-tail deer are seen at low densities and have the potential be more abundant with the right management plans. See Appendix C for a complete listing of wildlife species. REQUIREMENTS OF TARGET SPECIES: The first objective of our wildlife plan is to increase the density of the American badger population on the management site. American badgers are commonly found in open treeless habitats and grasslands (Scobie 2002).