The Tablelands at Uihlein Farm: Grassland Bird Conservation and Recommendations 2022
Adirondack Watershed Institute
Summer of 2022 marked the 4th year of collaboration between the Uihlein Foundation and the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute to examine how grassland and other bird species respond to management practices in hay fields on Heaven Hill and Uihlein Farm in Lake Placid, NY. These efforts are focused primarily on grassland specialist bird species including the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). These species depend on grassland habitat for successful breeding and are often found in hay meadows and pastures in the Northeast US in part due to the dearth of natural grassland habitat. Grassland birds are among the most imperiled bird groups on the continent, primarily as a result of long-term habitat loss and fragmentation combined with intensifying agricultural production on remaining farmlands. No longer under cultivation, the former potato fields at Uihlein Farm provide an opportunity for future grassland bird conservation as well as a variety of education and interpretation activities. This report documents our activities at Uihlein Farm during the 2022 field season; activities at Heaven Hill are described in a companion report.