Songbirds

Songbirds, or passerines, are a diverse group of small birds that use song to attract mates & defend breeding territories.

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.

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

White Crowned Sparrow