You’ve probably seen a Swainson’s Hawk hovering over an alfalfa field searching for its next meal, Sandhill Cranes foraging in cut corn fields, and shorebirds feeding in rice fields. Today, migratory birds in California depend on 50 million acres of privately owned land for essential habitat, and much of that land is used for agriculture. Several types of crops in the Central Valley provide birds with places to nest, feed and rest along their migratory journeys. The long-term conservation of migratory birds depends on maintaining and enhancing the habitat value of these lands for wildlife.

There are a variety of ways that landowners can create or enhance bird habitat on their property, including small adjustments to crop management to benefit birds, planting trees to enhance habitat and create a more natural environment, and creating wetlands for waterfowl and shorebirds. Farmers can also establish conservation easements to ensure that their land will continue to be farmed in perpetuity, in exchange for financial payment.

The Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership (a collaboration of Audubon California, PRBO Conservation Science, and The Nature Conservancy) is working to protect the wetlands and agricultural lands that support migratory bird populations in California. The partnership is helping birds on private lands by working with landowners to develop voluntary conservation plans focused on agricultural practices that benefit birds, restoring natural habitats on farms, and establishing agricultural and conservation easements to protect land from development. In many cases there is funding available, and the partnership is working to acquire funding for these private lands projects.

The partnership is also working with farmers to test alternative land management practices, and conducting surveys to improve our understanding of how wildlife uses these landscapes and to measure the overall benefits.

You can learn more about the Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership on our website: www.ca.audubon.org or at www.camigratorybirds.org.