Song of a sparrow

This past summer Kate and I visited our community of friends in central Pennsylvania. We spent some quality time with them in the fields, forests and streams near Huntingdon and State College.

One of the highlights was the song of a sparrow, an insect-like buzzing call—and then the sighting of this single grasshopper sparrow.

This species is in steep decline. Grasshopper Sparrow populations declined by about 2.5% per year between 1966 and 2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 72% over that period, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. It has been labelled a Common Bird in Steep Decline, and has a Continental Concern Score of 12 out of 20. If current rates of decline continue, the species will lose another half of its population by 2065.

A sub-species, the Florida grasshopper sparrow, is in even more trouble. Here’s a National Geographic short film that shows the problem clearly and also what is being done to help out.

Almost all of our grassland birds are in the same predicament, mostly because grasslands are shrinking on our landscape. Locally, The Grassland Bird Trust is working to preserve one of our last remaining grasslands near Fort Edward, NY.

Ironically, the biggest threat to that site is the encroachment of Boralex, a commercial energy company that is planning to cover a very large portion of the grasslands with solar panels. The solar facility would cover 527 acres with solar panels within a total 1,828 acre project area that includes roads, fencing, and both permanent and temporary equipment. While I certainly am an advocate for green energy, the site choices they are making are very poorly considered.

Is our vanishing grassland ecosystem so poorly valued that it’s their first choice?

To make it up to the birds, Boralex’s mitigation plan is to conserve only a couple of hundred acres. The plan is inadequate and fails to acknowledge the area’s ecological significance or provide meaningful protection for the grassland birds that rely on this unique habitat.  At a minimum, Boralex should permanently conserve at least as much land as it is blanketing with solar panels: 527 acres.

To learn what you can do to help these endangered birds, join Grasslands Bird Trust.

I’ve just stared work on a painting of this little sparrow from the reference photo I took, above. So far, it’s been a challenge to paint that sea of gold wheat interspersed with bright green grasses. I hope to post some progress shots soon.