Grassland birds have declined more rapidly than any other group of land birds in North America in the last 50 years with populations of Spragues Pipit, Chestnut-collared and Thick-billed Longspur, and Bairds Sparrow having declined 65-94% during this period. This cross-programmatic collaborative project will expand on a growing network of Motus automated receivers (stations) to provide the first fine-scale quantitative assessment of the migratory period for regional priority grassland songbirds which will inform key knowledge gaps about migration routes and stopover locations. Data collected via Motus automated telemetry tracking will allow the FWS and partners to inform full-life cycle models to reveal limiting factors and identify critical habitat for these species throughout the annual cycle. This project will fill critical gaps in the network of Motus stations being installed in the central grasslands by specifically locating stations on National Wildlife Refuges (specifically Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas). This $35,000 SA investment supports conservation priorities for the Grassland Ecosystem and is leveraged by $50K in-kind support from the Refuges and Migratory Birds Programs.
