Feb. 24, 2023, Friday - Fyke Monthly Meeting: 8 pm via Zoom Grassland Birds Are Thriving in the Least Likely Place (A Former Landfill)
The number of birds in North America has fallen by about 30 percent over the past 50 years, and grassland birds have suffered particularly large losses. But something of a miracle is happening to grassland species on a small scale—on Staten Island.
At the 2,000-acre Freshkills Park, formerly the site of the world’s largest landfill, 1,000 acres have been restored to grasslands. And grassland birds are thriving. In just a short time Freshkills has become the home of 300-plus pairs of nesting Savannah Sparrows, 82 pairs of Grasshopper Sparrows (likely the largest population in the region), and 8 pairs of Sedge Wrens, plus Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks.
In this zoom presentation, two researchers—Dr. Shannon Curley and Jose Ramirez-Garofalo—present their ongoing research involving grassland birds at Freshkills, and highlight the conservation successes in a maturing grassland habitat. Shannon is an ecologist with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and an adjunct professor at CUNY College of Staten Island. Jose is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University.
Shannon says they'll be adding updated results from the last breeding season, and some "exciting upcoming work" they'll be doing with tracking grassland birds. So don't miss it.
Feb. 24, 2023, Friday - Fyke Monthly Meeting: 8 pm via Zoom Grassland Birds Are Thriving in the Least Likely Place (A Former Landfill)
The number of birds in North America has fallen by about 30 percent over the past 50 years, and grassland birds have suffered particularly large losses. But something of a miracle is happening to grassland species on a small scale—on Staten Island.
At the 2,000-acre Freshkills Park, formerly the site of the world’s largest landfill, 1,000 acres have been restored to grasslands. And grassland birds are thriving. In just a short time Freshkills has become the home of 300-plus pairs of nesting Savannah Sparrows, 82 pairs of Grasshopper Sparrows (likely the largest population in the region), and 8 pairs of Sedge Wrens, plus Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks.
In this zoom presentation, two researchers—Dr. Shannon Curley and Jose Ramirez-Garofalo—present their ongoing research involving grassland birds at Freshkills, and highlight the conservation successes in a maturing grassland habitat. Shannon is an ecologist with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and an adjunct professor at CUNY College of Staten Island. Jose is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University.
Shannon says they'll be adding updated results from the last breeding season, and some "exciting upcoming work" they'll be doing with tracking grassland birds. So don't miss it.