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Density And Diversity Of Overwintering Birds In Managed Field Borders In Mississippi, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Mark D. Smith, Philip J. Barbour, L. Wes Burger Jr.

Stephen J Dinsmore

Grassland bird populations are sharply declining in North America. Changes in agricultural practices during the past 50 years have been suggested as one of the major causes of this decline. Field-border conservation practices encouraged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Conservation Buffer Initiative meet many of the needs of sustainable agriculture and offer excellent opportunities to enhance local grassland bird populations within intensive agricultural production systems. Despite the abundant information on avian use of, and reproductive success in, strip habitats during the breeding season, few studies have examined the potential value of field borders for wintering birds. We planted …