WASHINGTON—Establishing a songbird habitat benefits at-risk birds and plays an important role in helping conserve other vulnerable species.
According to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, a study conducted by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania found that managing habitats of songbirds like the golden-winged warbler also provides co-benefits to other birds and pollinators.
One of those pollinators is the vulnerable monarch butterfly, which has faced significantly declining populations in North America.
“We’re implementing strategies for the golden-winged warbler, but it’s important for us to understand how those efforts augment or provide potential benefits to these other species,” said researcher Jeffery Larkin during a webinar about avian-focused conservation outcomes.
The study examined conservation efforts to manage early successional habitats for golden-winged warblers in the Appalachian Mountains and Great Lakes regions. While these habitats are vital to songbirds’ breeding success, the study demonstrated they serve as important nectar and forage sources for monarchs. They also promote the growth of milkweed—a plant pivotal to monarchs’ survival.
Early successional habitats are open areas typically covered in young trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers that support a variety of wildlife species. Ecologically diverse, the habitats form after a disturbance, like wildfires, severe weather and timbering.
If not properly managed, the habitat will become a mature forest with tree canopies blocking sunlight from reaching the understory plant species that support wildlife.
But managing these habitats is expensive. The NRCS’ Working Lands for Wildlife initiative provides landowners with financial and technical assistance to conserve and create the diverse habitats.
The USDA said research from this study will strengthen conservation solutions for the monarch butterfly and other pollinators. It also will provide valuable information for more multispecies approaches.
“Contributing to the recovery of another species is wonderful news,” Larkin said.
The iconic monarch butterfly is known for its migration from overwintering sites in central Mexico and coastal California to as far north as Canada. But populations are facing stressors, including reduced milkweed and nectar plant availability due to habitat loss and land conversion.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, eastern monarch populations declined from 384 million in 1996 to 60 million in 2019. The western monarch population declined from around 1.2 million in 1997 to less than 30,000 in 2019.
-Virginia Farm Bureau
