Hay Harvest and Hiding Places

The June Harvest Report

At Clover Hill Farm, workers cut meadow grass and dry it into hay for farm animals. Some wild birds nest on the ground in the meadow. After leaving their nests, the young birds spend time in tall grass while learning to fly well. The grass gives them places to hide.

The farm began cutting more of its meadow in June instead of later in summer. After cutting, much of the grass was short, with fewer tall places where young birds could hide. Farmer Imani wanted a plan that provided hay while leaving shelter for the birds.

A wildlife helper compared three plans already used in equal-size meadow sections. A narrow refuge left a thin strip of grass uncut. A wide refuge left a wider strip uncut. Wait to cut left the whole section uncut until later in summer. Before workers cut grass, the helper checked that the areas to be cut had no active nests. Workers stayed away from birds.

The helper watched each section from a path for 15 minutes on ten mild, dry mornings after the June cutting. She recorded whether she saw young birds using tall grass during each check. A check counted once, even if she saw several birds. Workers also counted the hay bales from each section's June harvest.

The farm's goals were to see young birds using tall grass on at least six of the ten checks and to collect at least twelve hay bales per section in June. Grass left standing could be harvested later, but that hay would not count toward the June goal.