Great-horned Owl perched in a farm hedgerow (David Bradbeer) Short-eared Owl hunting voles over a grassland (Hank Tseng). A farm lane in Delta, BC (Tyler Garnham). A Marsh Wren singing atop a hedgerow (David Bradbeer). A diversity of food grown in Delta, BC (Markus Merkens). Coopers Hawk perching on a fence (Markus Merkens). Barley growing in a Delta field (Tyler Garnham). Trumpeter Swans feed on a cover crop (David Bradbeer). Spring plowing on a Delta farm (Markus Merkens). Snow Geese taking off from a farm field (David Shackleton) Ladybird beetle on a barley plant (David Bradbeer)

Songbirds

Back to Farmland Wildlife

Some of the songbirds that can be found on Delta farms are:

• Western Meadowlark
• Northern Shrike
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Cedar Waxwing
• Golden-crowned Kinglet
• Savannah Sparrow
• Common Yellowthroat
• Warbling Vireo
• Hutton's Vireo
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Barn Swallow
• Violet-green Swallow
• Tree Swallow
• Marsh Wren
• Bewick's Wren
• American Robin
• Orange- crowned Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Spotted Towhee
• Song Sparrow
• Golden-crowned Sparrow
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brewer's Blackbird
• American Goldfinch

Songbirds, or passerines, are a diverse group of birds that use song to attract mates and defend breeding territories. Songbirds use a variety of habitats on the farmland of Delta, but none is as important as native trees and shrubs. Through the Delta Farmland & Wildlife Trust's Hedgerow Stewardship Program, farmers and landowners can have native trees and shrubs planted along field edges. As the trees and shrubs grow, they provide diversity of structure that allows many different kinds of songbirds find food and shelter. Some songbirds will spend the winter, but many only return to Delta in the spring.

Some songbirds rely on open grassland, and these species benefit from fields enrolled in the Grassland Set-aside Stewardship Program. Savannah Sparrows and Common Yellowthroat have both been found nesting in grassland set-asides. Western Meadowlarks are large songbirds that require open areas and grassy habitats; they can be seen on certain farms feeding and roosting in  cover crops, grassland set-asides, and hay fields. Swallows will feed on insects over farm fields and will even catch spiderlings as they use silk to catch the wind and disperse to other areas. Some farmers have noticed swallows catching pest insects, like the cabbage white fly, over their fields.