New Hampshire farmers can now apply for funding in exchange for leaving their hayfields alone in the early summer.
To participate, landowners must agree not to cut hay until July 15, or to cut hay before May 20 and after July 24.
The funds come from the Bobolink Project, which started as a research study and now makes grants through Audubon chapters in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Bobolinks are grassland birds that travel the world but use parts of New England as breeding grounds. They have black and white feathers and a metallic-sounding song.
Bobolink project coordinator Kyla Howe says to raise their young, the birds need large, open landscapes, like native prairie land. But that kind of landscape has been some of the most heavily impacted across North America, and the birds have seen declines over the last century.
“Bobolinks are losing about 2% of their population every year, which might not seem like a lot, but when you zoom out, they've lost over 60% of their population over the last 50 years,” Howe said.
The birds have adapted to breed in hayfields and pastures in New England, which provide the open space they seek. But that presents a challenge, Howe said. Haying season is also a critical time for young birds, who are being incubated, fed, and learning how to fly.
To solve that, the project compensates farmers for the income they might lose by not haying in early summer, paying them to keep their fields as habitat for the birds. Keeping that habitat also helps other birds, like meadowlarks and grasshopper sparrows.
“This basically provides income for them,” Howe said. “They can depend on a source of diversified income to their farm and we can make sure that they're setting aside a field that's really ecologically valuable for grassland birds.”
Farmers are compensated per acre of land they put into the program. Through the project, farmers can also connect with one another and learn more about grassland birds.
Howe’s team monitors how many birds nest in the hayfields the project supports and shares that information with farmers.
Farmers can apply to be part of the project here. Applications are due March 31.
