A new Willistown Conservation Trust initiative aims to protect grassland birds that often nest within Chester County hayfields, writes Sophia Schmidt for WHYY.

“They nest right down on the ground,” said Zoë Warner, a consultant for the Willistown Conservation Trust. “They make little pockets, little cups of grass.”

Most of the birds will have hatched and grown enough to fly out of the grass by July when farmers clear the fields. However, nationwide, grassland birds are struggling. According to researchers, grassland birds have lost over half of their population since the 1970s.

More loss is expected in coming years if no changes are made, which is why Warner hopes to reverse this trend, at least on the local level. She is currently working with a landowners coalition to turn parts of pastoral Chester County into places where grassland birds can thrive.

Warner is asking Chester County landowners and farmers to clear their hay fields a bit later to give the birds more time to grow.

She started the Grassland Bird Collaboration two years ago. Today, it covers around 1,500 acres in the Doe Run area where owners and farmers have agreed to delay clearing the fields.

Read more about Willistown Conservation Trust’s initiative in WHYY.

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