Hi folks,

I received the May 1997 issue (Vol 50 No 3) of the Journal of Range =
Management, published bimonthly by the Society for Range Management. In =
it was a paper from the Wisconsin pasturelands, relating to research on =
the effects of cattle grazing on ground-nesting birds. Thought some =
might find it interesting, so am posting the Abstract.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net

Technical Note: Comparison of simulated ground nest types for =
grazing/trampling research. Laura Paine, DJ Undersander, David W =
Sample, Gerald A Bartelt and Tracy A Schatteman. J. Range Manage. =
50:231-233.

ABSTRACT: Ornithologists often use simulated nests consisting of game =
bird or domestic poultry eggs to study nest survival. Researchers =
investigating cattle trampling of ground nests have sometimes used clay =
targets instead of actual eggs to avoid the compounding effects of nest =
depredation. To determine whether livestock respond similarly to clay =
targets and egg nests, we compared inadvertent trampling and intentional =
disturbance of clay targets versus clutches of 3 pheasant eggs by Angus =
X Holstein heifers. Overall trampling levels for clay target- and =
egg-nests were similar (35 and 36%, respectively). Cattle noticed and =
responded to both types of nests. When noticed, simulated nests were =
kicked, sniffed, licked, or picked up in the mouth. Cattle disturbed an =
average of 25% of the clay targets and 8% of the egg nests during 4 =
trials. Our results suggest that cattle are as likely to inadvertently =
trample egg nests as they are clay targets, but targets are more likely =
to attract attention and are therefore disturbed more often than egg =
nests. The greater likelihood of intentional disturbance of clay =
targets by cattle reduces the confidence of extrapolating the fate of =
this type of simulated nest to that of actual nests.

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