On Saturday the 25th of April, we were fortunate enough to have hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers help spring-clean and spruce up our wildlife sanctuaries for Statewide Volunteer Day. Trails were restored, gardens weeded, invasive species were battled, and new benches were built. Bird Conservation’s Jon Atwood and Lindall Kidd joined 35 eager volunteers at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, to help improve grassland bird habitat.
By John Sill
Canoe Meadows is one of the more important Mass Audubon Sanctuaries for grassland birds, a group which is experiencing severe declines in North America. With over 70 acres of grassland habitat, Canoe Meadows is an important site for grassland bird conservation. In the past, Bobolinks and Savannah Sparrows have bred there and the Sanctuary is visited by Upland Sandpipers.
Under the direction of Sanctuary Staff, the group worked hard in glorious weather to clear invasive species and vegetation from the edge of fields, creating more grassland acreage. Grassland birds prefer open fields: many species will only nest in large patches of grassland habitat.
Learn more about simple land management practices that are greatly beneficial for grassland birds. We are sure that our volunteer’s fantastic efforts will not go unnoticed by the birds and hope to spot more Bobolinks breeding there this summer!
Volunteers gathered to help at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary
Dr Jon Atwood discussing grassland bird conservation at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary