Bird Monitoring at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, 2001–2018

Birds eat pests, spread seeds, pollinate plants and feed people; birdwatching is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and birds feature in many park programs. They are also sensitive indicators of environmental change — a canary in the coal mine for an ecosystem.

Around Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of Kansas, farming, urban growth and industry threaten bird habitat, and 44% of the birds that breed in the preserve are declining in the wider region. Some, such as the Greater Prairie-chicken and Northern Bobwhite, are declining fast.

How the birds are watched

Scientists with the National Park Service's Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network survey the preserve's birds each breeding season, record the structure and makeup of the plant communities they live in, and compare the park's bird trends with those of the region. Together these show how bird populations are faring and how they respond to habitat change — and help the park restore and maintain its landscapes.

The Common Nighthawk is a summer resident at the preserve. NPS.

The bird community, 2001–2018

Surveys began in 2001. In 17 years they recorded 119 bird species, 96 of which could breed in the park — about 80% of the breeding species one would reasonably expect there.

The number of species and how they were spread across the landscape changed little over the years, averaging 37 species a year in upland tallgrass prairie and 31 in riparian (streamside) habitat. That steadiness suggests the park's habitat has stayed similar or improved. The preserve's rocky, rolling terrain has largely escaped the plow, and its lush grasslands and streamside areas support a rich variety of breeding birds.

The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie Bird Conservation Region, one of 67 regions identified by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. The preserve lies on its western edge. NPS.

Birds of special interest

Species of conservation concern for the Eastern Tallgrass Prairie Bird Conservation Region found in the park — 13 breeding species and 4 others:

• Summer residents: Bell's Vireo, Bewick's Wren, Black-billed Cuckoo, Dickcissel, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Upland Sandpiper.
• Year-round residents: Field Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Flicker, Red-headed Woodpecker.
• Winter resident: Bald Eagle.
• Migrants: Acadian Flycatcher, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pied-billed Grebe.

Grassland obligates — species that need grassland to survive — 9 breeding species and 4 migrants:

• Year-round residents: Eastern Meadowlark, Greater Prairie-chicken, Horned Lark, Northern Harrier, Western Meadowlark.
• Summer residents: Dickcissel, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Upland Sandpiper.
• Migrants: Bobolink, Savannah Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Vesper Sparrow.

Greater Prairie-chickens live in remnant tallgrass prairie and are declining because of habitat loss; they are known for their mating dances and a booming call amplified by inflatable neck sacs. Robert Bennetts; public domain via the NPS's NPGallery.

Trends in common species

Nine riparian and 18 upland species were numerous enough to measure abundance and compare with regional trends. Most of the park's common birds are doing as well as or slightly better than in the region.

• Increasing since 2001: Dickcissel and Mourning Dove in the uplands; Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse along the streams.
• Decreasing since 2001: Killdeer, Lark Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Upland Sandpiper and Western Meadowlark, all in the uplands. No common riparian species declined significantly.
• All other common species were stable or showed no detectable trend.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers live at the preserve all year and have increased in both the park and the region since 2001. NPS/Neal Lewis.

Two meadowlarks

At the preserve, Western Meadowlarks are declining while Eastern Meadowlarks are increasing. Western Meadowlarks prefer shorter vegetation and Eastern Meadowlarks taller, denser growth. A change in habitat may explain it: from 2005 through 2018 the park set fewer prescribed burns each year and grazed fewer cattle than in the first years of the surveys, and in 2009 bison replaced cattle in the Windmill Pasture. The result has been the taller, thicker vegetation that Eastern Meadowlarks favor.

Western Meadowlark. NPS.

Sources

• National Park Service, Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network: "Bird Community Monitoring at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve," with its full report in the NPS DataStore. Pictures the first rewrite left out, filed by the Park Service as public domain in NPGallery, were restored on 2026-09-26.