J. Field Ornithol. 73(3):268–275, 2002
Breeding bird communities of reclaimed coal-mine
grasslands in the American midwest
Travis L. DeVault,1 Peter E. Scott,2 Robb A. Bajema,3 and Steven L. Lima
Department of Life Sciences, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809 USA
Received 15 February 2001; accepted 24 August 2001
ABSTRACT. We studied the breeding bird communities of 19 reclaimed surface coal-mine grasslands in southwestern Indiana in 1997–1998, using roadside point counts and off-road transects. The mine grasslands in this
study were large, ranging from 110 to 3180 ha in area (median, 590 ha). Although dominated by a few Eurasian
grass species, they supported diverse bird communities in which grassland-dependent species were prominent along
with grassland-associated and successional scrub species. The mean abundances of species (relative to one another)
on roadside and off-road counts were positively correlated. Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Eastern
Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), and Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) were present at .90% of
point count locations. Other common species, in descending order, included Dickcissels (Spiza americana), Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas), Killdeers (Charadrius vociferus), Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea), Henslow’s
Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii), Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla), and Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Brownheaded Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) were rare, as were seven grassland-dependent species that were near the edges of
their geographic distributions.
SINOPSIS. Comunidades de aves anidantes de los pastizales creados en minas de carbón reclamadas
en el medio oeste americano
Estudiamos las comunidades de aves que anidan en 19 pastizales desarrollados en la superficie de minas de carbón
reclamadas en el suroeste de Indiana entre el 1997 y el 1998, usando conteos de puntos en carreteras y transectos
fuera de las carreteras. Los pastizales en este estudio eran grandes, desde 110 hasta 3 180 ha en área (mediana: 590
ha). Aunque dominadas por algunas especies de gramı́neas de orı́gen Euroasiático, sostuvieron comunidades de aves
diversas en las cuales especies dependientes de pastizales fueron prominentes junto con especies asociadas a los
pastizales y a especies asociadas a matorrales sucesionales. Las abundancias promedio de las especies (relativas una
a la otra) en conteos de carreteras y fuera de carreteras fueron positivamente correlacionados. En sobre el 90% de
las localidades de conteo por punto se hallaron Agelaius phoenicius, Sturnella magna y Ammodramus savannarum.
Otras especies presentes, en órden descendiente de presencia, incluyen Spiza americana, Geothlypis trichas, Charadrius
vociferus, Passerina cyanea, Ammodramus henslowii, Spizella pusilla y Melospiza melodia. La especie Molothrus ater fué
rara, al igual que siete especies dependientes de pastizales que se hallaron cerca de los lı́mites de sus distribuciones
geográficas.
Key words: Agelaius, Ammodramus, Indiana, non-native grasslands, Spiza, strip mine
INTRODUCTION
Many grassland bird species of midwestern
America have undergone serious population declines in recent decades (Robbins et al. 1986;
Askins 1993; Sauer et al. 1999). The declines
are due largely to loss of native and non-native
grassland habitat (Herkert 1991; Warner 1994).
Countering the trend of grassland decline are
two major programs of grassland creation. The
1
Current address: Department of Forestry and
Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 USA.
2
Corresponding author. Email: ,lsscott@scifac.
indstate.edu.
3
Current address: Department of Biology, Aquinas
College, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506 USA.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has converted much cropland to grassland habitat (Best
et al. 1997). CRP fields support far more grassland birds than do row-crops (Best et al. 1997),
but their future is uncertain. A less well-known
‘‘program’’ is surface coal mine reclamation,
which has produced tens of thousands of hectares of grassland habitat in the Illinois coal basin (portions of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky;
Brothers 1990), southeastern Ohio, and parts
of the Appalachian Mountains (Whitmore and
Hall 1978). Our goal in this study was to investigate the breeding avifauna of relatively undisturbed portions of these ‘‘mine grasslands’’
and determine whether such habitats are used
by those grassland bird species that would be
expected in suitable grassland habitats in this
part of the Midwest (Sauer et al. 1999).
268
Vol. 73, No. 3
Coal Mines and Grassland Bird Conservation
Surface mining became common in the Midwest in the 1920s. Early reclamation focused
on reforestation, but poor tree growth spurred
grassland formation, which by 1970 was the
chief reclamation method (Brothers 1990).
Rapid establishment of ground cover to meet
erosion-control guidelines was an additional incentive. The resulting mine grasslands are dominated by a few Eurasian cool-season grasses,
namely tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea),
smooth brome (Bromus inermis), and orchard
grass (Dactylis glomerata).
Our interest in midwestern mine grasslands
stems from the fact that they are much larger
than Appalachian sites, reflecting the different
distribution of near-surface coal in the two regions. Whitmore and Hall (1978) identified reclaimed surface mines as a source of grassland
bird habitat in Appalachian coal producing areas. Subsequent work in West Virginia (Wray
et al. 1982) documented populations of Grasshopper Sparrows (see Table 2 for scientific
names of birds) and other species in reclaimed
grasslands that were relatively small (#42 ha).
In Pennsylvania, reclaimed mine grasslands are
somewhat larger, averaging 6SD 157 6 132 ha
(N 5 17 sites; Rohrbaugh and Yahner 1996).
In southwestern Indiana, mine grasslands range
in size from approximately 100 to 3000 ha.
Grassland tract size is important because several
grassland-dependent birds appear to be areasensitive, and are less likely to occur in patches
smaller than 10–75 ha (Herkert 1994; Walk
and Warner 1999; but see Koford 1999; Horn
et al. 2000). Previously (Bajema and Lima
2001; Bajema et al. 2001), we demonstrated
the importance of mine grasslands for Henslow’s Sparrows, the most rapidly declining
grassland passerine in the Midwest (Herkert et
al. 1996). Here we report the relative abundances of all bird species breeding in grassland
on 19 mines in southwestern Indiana. This is
the first detailed analysis of the breeding bird
communities of midwestern mine grasslands.
METHODS
Locating reclaimed mine grasslands.
Mine grasslands were located in southwestern
Indiana (Fig. 1), the state’s only coal-mining
district, using satellite imagery, and were verified as reclaimed mines during visits (Bajema
and Lima 2001). We surveyed all mines with
269
Fig. 1. Location and relative sizes of reclaimed surface mine grasslands in eight counties in the coal
mining district of southwestern Indiana. From north
to south, counties (indicated by first one or two letters of name) are Vermillion, Vigo, Clay, Sullivan,
Greene, Daviess, Pike, and Warrick. Mine names,
from north to south, are as follows: Universal (1),
Snow Hill (2), Chinook (3), Saline City (4), Center
Point (5), Hymera (6), Minnehaha (7), Dugger (8),
Cass (9), Hillenbrand-2 (10), Hillenbrand-1 (11),
Phoenix (12), Petersburg (13), Alford (14), Cup
Creek (15), Westfield (16), Lynnville (17), Squaw
Creek (18), Ayrshire (19). See Table 1 for precise data
on grassland area and other characteristics.
well-established grassland vegetation (N 5 19
mines). For each mine, we used satellite data,
aerial photographs, and ground-truthing (see
Bajema and Lima 2001) to calculate the number of hectares of grassland in two categories:
undisturbed (relatively continuous tall grass,
with standing dead stems and extensive leaf litter; DeVault 1999), and grazed or frequently
hayed (Table 1). Total grassland summed to
16,760 ha, of which 11,500 ha (69%) was undisturbed.
Grassland habitat. We counted birds
only in undisturbed, older grassland habitat
that showed no signs of recent mowing or grazing. We focused on this habitat type because it
is a common outcome of reclamation efforts,
and previous observations indicated that it was
270
J. Field Ornithol.
2002
T. L. DeVault et al.
Table 1. Characteristics of 19 reclaimed surface mines in southwestern Indiana. Mines are listed in descending order of total grassland size.
Grasslands, hectares
Minea
County
Totalb
Undisturbed
Ayrshire
Universal
Lynnville
Chinook
Minnehaha
Westfield
Squaw Creek
Petersburg
Phoenix
Alford
Dugger
Hillenbrand 1
Cass
Snow Hill
Saline City
Hillenbrand 2
Hymera
Centerpoint
Cup Creek
Total
Warrick
Vermillion
Warrick
Clay
Sullivan
Pike
Warrick
Pike
Daviess
Pike
Sullivan
Greene
Sullivan
Vigo
Clay
Greene
Sullivan
Clay
Pike
3180
2630
1830
1580
1040
1040
1000
730
670
590
550
440
350
270
220
200
180
150
110
16,760
1060
1140
1500
1220
890
810
900
680
550
560
440
400
310
270
190
200
170
110
100
11,500
a
b
Number of Number of Length of
transects
off-road
roadside
(km)
transects
points
28
34
12
26
14
15
13
18
14
7
10
8
7
5
2
2
10
4
10
239
3
5
2.6
7.4
9
5
2
4
3
7.3
8.8
2.5
2.5
5.3
2
2
1
2
1.3
1.8
0.7
1.4
1
1.0
39
42.6
For ownership, see Bajema et al. (2001).
Total grassland includes grazed, frequently hayed, and undisturbed habitat.
the most suitable habitat on mines for Henslow’s Sparrows and other grassland specialist
birds. The grasslands we studied in Pike County, Indiana were reclaimed 17 to 30 yr ago
(Crawford 2000); for other areas, we lack precise information on year of reclamation, but
most areas were over 10 yr old. The vegetation
was grass-dominated: canopy cover by grasses,
forbs, and shrubs averaged 64%, 27%, and
,1%, respectively, at nine mines (DeVault
1999). Four non-native species accounted for
over 95% of grass cover (tall fescue, smooth
brome, orchard grass, and Japanese brome [Bromus japonicus]). Common forbs were goldenrod
(Solidago sp.), lespedeza (Lespedeza spp.), sweet
clover (Melilotus spp.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa).
Bird surveys. We used two bird survey
methods, 5-min roadside point counts and offroad line transects (Bibby et al. 1992). Extensive networks of unpaved roads with light vehicle traffic crisscrossed the mines. We established 239 points along these roads in 19 mines
(Table 1, Fig. 1), distributing points at 0.5-km
intervals where undisturbed grassland was con-
tinuous. The number of points was proportional to area of undisturbed grassland (r 5 0.72,
N 5 19, P , 0.01), but varied depending on
road availability in the target habitat; for example, the five smallest mines (100–200 ha of
grassland) had 2–10 points each (Table 1). Offroad transects were conducted on 12 mostly
larger mines to determine if species abundances
along roads—in particular, the abundances of
species relative to one another—were characteristic of the entire habitat. Individual transects
ranged from 0.3 to 4.2 km in length (mean:
1.2 km, N 5 39; Table 1), and were either
linear (51%), L- or U-shaped (41%), or elliptical if around a lake (8%). Observers walked
at a pace of ;2 km/h and paused frequently.
We were careful not to double-count birds at
corners on L- or U-shaped transects, and for
the latter group parallel lines were at least 400
m apart to avoid double-counting.
Counts were confined to a 5-h period beginning 30 min before sunrise on days with little
wind and no rain. We conducted a single round
of surveys in 1997 between 11 May and 26
June, using three observers who trained togeth-
Vol. 73, No. 3
Coal Mines and Grassland Bird Conservation
er. In 1998 we conducted three rounds of surveys (12 May–6 June, 28 May–23 June, 23
June–10 July) on the same mines, using almost
the same set of points and transects (;95%
overlap) and two additional observers. Changes
in points and transects were due to road washouts or permission to survey new areas. The
overlap in dates between the first and second
rounds in 1998 was due to conducting the second survey at one mine before the first survey
was completed at another mine. The same observer usually did all counts on a particular
route because familiarity reduced the time
needed to relocate points and transects. For
each bird detected, the observer recorded species, mode of detection (song, call, or visual),
and distance (less than or greater than 100 m).
For line transects, the distance category assigned was based on the shortest distance between the bird and the transect line. Most birds
that were counted were singing and therefore
adult males. However, detections by sight or
call note likely included some females, especially for visually conspicuous species such as
the Red-winged Blackbird and the Eastern
Meadowlark, so we report count data as ‘‘individuals’’ per point or km.
To establish whether these grasslands supported grassland-dependent birds only or additional species with broader habitat usage, we
report data for all breeding species on the study
sites. We classified bird species (Table 2) according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Breeding Bird Survey (Sauer et al. 1999) and
Herkert’s (1991, 1994) analyses of grassland
birds in Illinois. These sources agree on the
‘‘true’’ grassland species, which appear to require grasslands for breeding; we term these
‘‘grassland specialists.’’ Other species regularly
breed in midwestern grasslands, but use successional scrub, marsh, or other habitats at least as
readily as grasslands. We term these ‘‘grasslandassociated’’ species, but also report Sauer et al.’s
(1999) designation, which in most cases was
successional scrub. We omitted species that
sometimes foraged in grassland habitat but did
not breed there.
Data analysis. With one exception, analyses were based only on the 1998 surveys, in
which all points and transects were visited three
times. The exception was a correlation analysis
comparing, for each survey method, relative
abundances of bird species in 1997 and 1998.
271
Statistical analyses were performed using SAS
version 8 (SAS Institute Inc. 1999). Mean 6
SD values are reported.
We used unlimited-distance detections to
classify species as present or absent on a given
mine. Presence or absence at points (percent
occurrence, Table 2) was calculated in two
ways, using detections within 100 m or unlimited-distance detections. The former measure is
best for species comparisons since all species,
including weak-singing sparrows, were audible
for 100 m (Bajema et al. 2001). The latter measure is helpful for documenting the spatial distribution of rare species, raptors, and species
with far-carrying calls (Northern Bobwhite,
Eastern Meadowlark, Field Sparrow). We calculated mean abundance per survey round per
point for each mine, and an overall mean and
standard deviation based on the 19 means, using only detections within 100 m. Since transect lengths varied and detections were summed
over the transect, we calculated mean detections
(within 100 m) per km per round for each
mine, and an overall mean and standard deviation for the 12 mines that contained transects.
We tested whether the relative abundances of
28 species at roadside points were correlated
with their relative abundances along transects,
restricting the test to the mines which had both
roadside and off-road data (N 5 12). Each species was represented by one overall mean for
roadside abundance (individuals/point/round)
and another for transect abundance (individuals/km/round). The overall mean was calculated
using the mine means rather than the pooled
collection of points or transect kilometers. The
same correlation analysis was performed on
subsets of common and rare species.
RESULTS
Species abundances. Breeding birds of
undisturbed grassland included 20 species that
occurred on more than two-thirds of the 19
mines (Table 2, ‘‘common species’’). Three avian species were nearly ubiquitous, each occurring at .90% of points: Red-winged Blackbirds
were most abundant; the next two, Eastern
Meadowlarks and Grasshopper Sparrows, are
grassland specialists (Table 2). Three other
grassland specialists, Dickcissels, Henslow’s
Sparrows, and Horned Larks, occupied ranks 4,
8, and 13, respectively, using roadside count
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
95
84
95
100
100
84
74
95
68
74
74
42
32
11
11
47
21
21
11
O, GA
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
Minesb
W, GA
GS
GS
GS
SS, GA
O, GA
SS
GS
SS, GA
SS, GA
SS, GA
O, GA
GS
SS, GA
SS
SS
SS
SS
W
O
Habitata
5
5
8
4
2
2
1
0.4
97
93
91
65
62
49
48
35
42
42
39
25
27
29
26
26
22
20
14
17
6
6
12
5
7
3
1
0.4
98
97
93
73
76
62
57
47
79
56
39
39
27
86
41
32
30
27
29
28
0.025
0.018
0.014
0.010
0.006
0.003
0.002
0.001
3.08
1.85
1.19
0.68
0.40
0.35
0.32
0.25
0.24
0.20
0.19
0.18
0.14
0.13
0.12
0.12
0.11
0.09
0.07
0.05
0.96
0.63
0.42
0.39
0.23
0.25
0.21
0.20
0.19
0.14
0.14
0.19
0.09
0.10
0.12
0.11
0.11
0.11
0.06
0.06
0.044
0.045
0.049
0.030
0.017
0.009
0.005
0.002
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
0.11
0.27
0.03
0.08
0.02
0.09
0.003
0.004
14.39
8.28
4.76
3.03
1.89
1.23
1.02
1.72
1.51
0.94
1.12
0.18
0.21
0.64
0.57
0.40
0.57
0.32
0.62
0.26
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
0.28
0.74
0.09
0.25
0.04
0.17
0.011
0.013
5.52
2.35
3.10
2.03
1.37
0.99
0.69
1.78
1.31
0.55
0.67
0.32
0.22
0.95
0.62
0.44
0.53
0.50
0.71
0.38
Off-road transects
Individuals/km/
roundd x̄ 6 SD
T. L. DeVault et al.
a Characteristic breeding habitat. The first designation is from Sauer et al. (1999): GS 5 grassland specialist; SS 5 successional scrub; W 5 wetlands; O 5 other
or not classified. This is followed in some cases by the designation GA (‘‘grassland-associated’’) for facultative grassland users that regularly breed in Midwestern grasslands
(Herkert 1994: Table 1), but are not grassland specialists. Non-grassland species are listed only if mean abundance was . 0.05 birds/point.
b Percent of mines (N 5 19) where the species was recorded at least once at any distance, at roadside points or on foot transects.
c Percent of roadside points (N 5 239) where the species was recorded at least once within 100 m.
d Within 100 m of point or transect. Mines, N 5 19 for roadside points; N 5 12 for transects.
Common species:
Red-winged Blackbrid (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypas trichas)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii )
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)
Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii )
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Relatively rare species:
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis)
Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda)
Species
Roadside points
Individuals/point/
Points,
Points,
,100 mc all distances roundd x̄ 6 SD
Percentage occurrence
Table 2. Frequency of detection of breeding birds in undistributed grassland on 19 reclaimed mines at various scales. This grassland habitat also included
scattered shrub thickets. Species are listed in descending order of mean abundance at roadside points.
272
J. Field Ornithol.
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Vol. 73, No. 3
Coal Mines and Grassland Bird Conservation
data. Ten species characteristic of successional
scrub were encountered, five of which are also
recognized as grassland-associated in the Midwest (Table 2; Herkert 1991, 1994).
Eight grassland species were relatively rare at
the scale of the whole study area, occurring at
,10% of points (Table 2, ‘‘relatively rare species’’). One was the Brown-headed Cowbird, a
widespread and often common species in the
Midwest (Price et al. 1995). The others were
grassland specialists at the southern edges of
their breeding ranges (Price et al. 1995; Castrale
et al. 1998). For instance, mines in the northernmost counties (Vermillion, Vigo, and Clay;
Fig. 1), which included 31% of count points
and 35% of transect kilometers, accounted for
all detections of Bobolinks, Ring-necked Pheasants, and Upland Sandpipers, and most detections (89–92%) of Sedge Wrens and Savannah
Sparrows. Even at the northern mines these five
species were uncommon to rare.
The mean abundances of species on roadside
point counts (individuals/point/round) and on
foot transects (individuals/km/round) were
highly positively correlated (r 5 0.996, N 5 28
species, P , 0.001). For the eight ‘‘relatively
rare’’ grassland species alone (Table 2), the correlation was not significant (r 5 0.609, P 5
0.11); for the remaining 20 species, the correlation was again very high (r 5 0.996). When
the three most common species (Table 2) were
excluded, the correlation between roadside and
off-road abundance remained strongly positive
for the less common but regularly occurring
species (r 5 0.903, N 5 17 species, P ,
0.001). Thus, roadside counts accurately characterize relative abundance relationships among
the breeding bird assemblage of this habitat,
with the exception of the rare species. However,
rank order of abundance on points and transects was not identical after the first five species
(Table 2: the two columns on far right). For
example, Henslow’s Sparrows and Field Sparrows were ranked 6 and 7 on transects, ahead
of Killdeers and Indigo Buntings, reversing the
sequence on roadside points.
In general, the more abundant a species was,
the less its mean abundance varied among
mines. Coefficients of variation (calculated
from the roadside means and standard deviations in Table 2) were 31–35% for the three
nearly ubiquitous species, 55–59% for Dickcissel and Common Yellowthroat, and 64–122%
273
for the remaining 15 ‘‘common species’’. Related to this, rank order of abundance was remarkably consistent in the eight-county area for
the top three species: Red-winged Blackbirds
ranked first on 89% of mines, Eastern Meadowlarks second on 89% of mines, and Grasshopper Sparrows third on 58% of mines (roadside data, N 5 19 mines).
A strong correlation between mean abundance of species in 1997 (single survey round)
and 1998 (averaged over three rounds) indicates
that species abundances were relatively stable
during both years (N 5 28 species, r 5 0.992,
P , 0.001 on point counts, r 5 0.988, P ,
0.001 on line transects).
DISCUSSION
Prominence of grassland specialists.
Four grassland specialists were among the most
common birds on our counts: Eastern Meadowlarks, Grasshopper Sparrows, Dickcissels,
and Henslow’s Sparrows. Over a century ago on
a large tallgrass prairie in southeastern Illinois,
these same four species were the most common
breeding birds (Ridgway 1873). Their use of
grasslands dominated by non-native plants is
not surprising, given that these bird species
shifted from prairie to agricultural grasslands a
century ago (Herkert 1991). Agricultural grasslands, like reclaimed mine grasslands, are dominated by cool-season Eurasian grass species
(Warner 1994). Structural characteristics of
vegetation and patch size appear to be of primary importance to these four bird species
(Whitmore 1981; Herkert 1994).
The rarity of grassland specialist birds other
than the four species mentioned above was apparently due to geographic range or preference
for shorter grass. The reclaimed mines of southwestern Indiana are slightly south of the area of
greatest grassland bird species richness (by 1 to
48 latitude; Sauer et al. 1999). The low density
of Horned Larks probably reflects a preference
for short grass and bare areas, since they breed
commonly in agricultural fields at this latitude
prior to planting (Castrale et al. 1998); the
same preference may have contributed to Upland Sandpiper rarity. Undisturbed mine grasslands were relatively tall and dense with few
bare areas (DeVault 1999; Bajema et al. 2001).
The dominant species on our counts, the
Red-winged Blackbird, is not a grassland spe-
274
J. Field Ornithol.
2002
T. L. DeVault et al.
cialist. Its highest breeding densities are still in
marshes; however, blackbirds greatly increased
their use of upland grassy habitats as marshes
were drained (Graber and Graber 1963) and
they are now abundant in all types of midwestern grasslands (Herkert 1991; Best et al.
1997). In addition, cattail stands and lakes in
reclaimed mines attract this species.
Conservation issues. The four common
grassland specialists on reclaimed mines in this
study are among the top priority migratory
grassland species of conservation concern in the
Midwest, with Henslow’s Sparrows heading the
list (Herkert et al. 1996). All have shown
steady, significant declines on Breeding Bird
Surveys since 1966 (Sauer et al. 1999). The
wide distribution and abundance of breeding
adults in undisturbed grassland on mines, and
the large aggregate size of these grasslands suggest that reclaimed coal mines provide important habitat for grassland birds. Nest success
studies at two of these mines in 1999 and 2000
indicate that productivity is similar to that in
other midwestern grassland habitats (E. W. Galligan and S. L. Lima, unpubl. data).
Certain qualities of reclaimed mines affect
their potential as refuges for grassland birds, especially in comparison with other secondary
grasslands such as hayfields, pastures, and idle
CRP fields. Advantages of midwestern mine
grasslands appear to be (a) large size and minimal development (discussed above), (b) scarcity of Brown-headed Cowbirds, (c) resistance
to woody plant succession, (d) infrequent mowing, limited grazing, and benign neglect following grassland establishment, and (e) ownership
by single entities, usually coal companies or
state wildlife management agencies.
Although Brown-headed Cowbirds are widespread and common throughout Indiana and
the Midwest in general (Price et al. 1995; Castrale et al. 1998), they were conspicuously absent from the mine grasslands (Table 2), with
only 0.03 individuals/point and a 5% rate of
occurrence at point count locations. As a result,
,1% of the nests of grassland specialist passerines are parasitized by cowbirds on mine grasslands (E. W. Galligan and S. L. Lima, unpubl.
data). The general lack of Brown-headed Cowbirds in mine grasslands is consistent with previous work indicating less parasitism in larger
grasslands (Johnson and Temple 1990). Cowbirds were fairly common in small grassy CRP
fields in northern Indiana (Best et al. 1997);
that result, compared with ours, suggests that
large size of the mines plays a role in reducing
cowbird abundance in mine grasslands.
The undisturbed mine grasslands in our
study showed few signs of undergoing significant succession toward a woody plant community, as old fields rapidly do in this region.
We suspect that this is due to three factors: unsuitable soil, tenacity of the Eurasian grasses
used in reclamation, and colonization problems
due to distance from forest edge (Hardt and
Forman 1989). Early-successional forbs are present but do not quickly displace grasses (DeVault 1999). Finally, mowing is infrequent on
reclaimed mine grasslands relative to agricultural grasslands maintained for hay; thus, nests are
unlikely to be destroyed before fledging young.
Our work shows that the grassland ‘‘recipe’’
for surface mine reclamation in the Midwest
produces habitat for a number of beleaguered
grassland bird species. Although the mine grasslands of southwestern Indiana support few
northerly-breeding grassland specialists (e.g.,
Bobolink and Sedge Wren), they are valuable
for the southerly-breeding or widespread species
such as Grasshopper and Henslow’s sparrows,
Eastern Meadowlarks, and Dickcissels. Mine
grasslands are often owned by a single entity,
making their long-term conservation feasible;
due to soil conditions, they are largely unsuitable for other purposes. With greater efforts focused on their continued acquisition and management, reclaimed mine grasslands could play
a major role in the conservation of grassland
birds.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Ed Galligan and Ron Lange for help with
field surveys, Bill McCoy of Patoka River National
Wildlife Refuge for logistical support, and Danny J. Ingold and an anonymous reviewer for helpful criticisms.
Don Mann of Kindill Mining, Allen Eicher and Scott
McGarvie of Peabody Coal, Mike Jacquemine and Jeff
Mueller of Amax Coal, and Bernie Rottman of Black
Beauty Coal allowed us access to properties. This work
was funded by grants from the U.S. Geological Survey
(Biological Resources Division, Species at Risk Program)
to S.L.L. and P.E.S. and from the Indiana Academy of
Science to R.A.B. and S.L.L.
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