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Message HummingbirdConservation PlanWESTERN MIGRATORY AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE OUTLINEAgriculture in western North America is a multifaceted subject that involves various factors, such as food availability, farm size, pesticide use, land use, and cultural history. For migratory hummingbirds, agriculture presents a direct threat to the habitats they depend on their breeding, non-breeding, and migration routes, resulting in alteration of habitat, loss of habitat, and habitat conversion. The intensification of agriculture and the heightened use of pesticides on farms have been recognized as signification factors impacting bird populations. At the same time, hummingbirds may use some agricultural areas, foraging on flowering crops and nesting in fields, and contributing significant pollination services to fruit and nut production. Since the 1990s, agriculture has been recognized as one of the greatest factors impacting populations of Neotropical migratory birds of any human activity (10). Yet, there is a dearth of information regarding how hummingbirds use agricultural landscapes, as well as the effects of agricultural activities on hummingbird populations because of impacts to habitat. Across western North America, studies show that agriculture and the subsequent loss of habitat has significant impacts on bird diversity. However, less is known about the impacts of agriculture on hummingbirds because they are often omitted in avian research, due to the difficulties in detecting them in both aural and visual surveys. Most reports on agriculture and avian diversity focus on benefits to and impacts on waterfowl, other landbirds, and shorebirds. However, based on our understanding of how hummingbirds utilize their habitats, we can infer that these impacts likely resemble those observed in other species that are more readily monitored and studied. Members of the conservation community identified agriculture as leading threat to migratory hummingbirds, because agriculture has been associated with a reduction in songbird populations, many of which depend on invertebrate diets and suitable habitat for breeding just as hummingbirds do. Riparian and wetland habitats, crucial for supporting the nectar-producing flowering plants that hummingbirds depend on and are a vital source of insect populations, have been notably lost because of agriculture across the nesting, breeding, and migration ranges of western migratory hummingbirds. The following discussion explores the potential and known consequences of agriculture on hummingbirds, specifically loss of habitat, groundwater depletion, and surface water loss. We examine the ramifications of agriculture across western Mexico, the United States, and Canada to identify specific challenges to hummingbirds that agriculture may present and offer strategies for mitigating this threat.Across western Nth America, studies show that agriculture and the subsequent loss of habitat has significant impacts on bird diversity.Agriculture worker applying pesticides to field crops.

AGRICULTURE OUTLINEAgriculture in western North America is a multifaceted subject that involves various factors, such as food availability, farm size, pesticide use, land use, and cultural history. For migratory hummingbirds, agriculture presents a direct threat to the habitats they depend on their breeding, non-breeding, and migration routes, resulting in alteration of habitat, loss of habitat, and habitat conversion. The intensification of agriculture and the heightened use of pesticides on farms have been recognized as signification factors impacting bird populations. At the same time, hummingbirds may use some agricultural areas, foraging on flowering crops and nesting in fields, and contributing significant pollination services to fruit and nut production. Since the 1990s, agriculture has been recognized as one of the greatest factors impacting populations of Neotropical migratory birds of any human activity (10). Yet, there is a dearth of information regarding how hummingbirds use agricultural landscapes, as well as the effects of agricultural activities on hummingbird populations because of impacts to habitat. Across western North America, studies show that agriculture and the subsequent loss of habitat has significant impacts on bird diversity. However, less is known about the impacts of agriculture on hummingbirds because they are often omitted in avian research, due to the difficulties in detecting them in both aural and visual surveys. Most reports on agriculture and avian diversity focus on benefits to and impacts on waterfowl, other landbirds, and shorebirds. However, based on our understanding of how hummingbirds utilize their habitats, we can infer that these impacts likely resemble those observed in other species that are more readily monitored and studied. Members of the conservation community identified agriculture as leading threat to migratory hummingbirds, because agriculture has been associated with a reduction in songbird populations, many of which depend on invertebrate diets and suitable habitat for breeding just as hummingbirds do. Riparian and wetland habitats, crucial for supporting the nectar-producing flowering plants that hummingbirds depend on and are a vital source of insect populations, have been notably lost because of agriculture across the nesting, breeding, and migration ranges of western migratory hummingbirds. The following discussion explores the potential and known consequences of agriculture on hummingbirds, specifically loss of habitat, groundwater depletion, and surface water loss. We examine the ramifications of agriculture across western Mexico, the United States, and Canada to identify specific challenges to hummingbirds that agriculture may present and offer strategies for mitigating this threat.Across western Nth America, studies show that agriculture and the subsequent loss of habitat has significant impacts on bird diversity.Agriculture worker applying pesticides to field crops.

AGRICULTURE IN THE WESTHummingbirds across western Mexico, the United States, and Canada navigate through and breed within a diverse landscape of fruit and nut orchards, dairy farms, vineyards, cattle ranches, and vegetable and cereal agricultural fields. Overall, the land used for agricultural purposes in the U.S. decreased about 3% from 1945 to 2012, while the location of areas with concentrations of crops have remained consistent (Front. Sustain. Food System 2020). The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that planted acreage in eight major crops across the United States will increase in the early years of 2020, followed by a slight decline in following years. This reflects a rebound in agricultural output after contractions that occurred during COVID-19 (USDA 2021). In California, for example, a vital state for six of our focal species’ migration, breeding, and overwintering habitats, over 400 agricultural products are grown. In 2020, California alone was home to 69,600 farms and ranches and produces over one-third of U.S. vegetables two thirds of nuts and fruits. Similarly in Canada, by 2021, the number of farms in British Columbia had fallen by almost 10%, and the total farm area also decreased by almost 1 million acres. And in Mexico.Agriculture has undergone tremendous changes since the early 20th century, when it was a labor intensive venture that took place in rural areas on small, diversified farms. In the U.S., almost half of the U.S. workforce was engaged in agriculture. Today, farms are highly intensified, including increased mechanization, and specialized on specific crops usually in monocultures, and employs a fraction of the workers. While this change in agricultural practices benefits greater yields it has impacts on ecosystem services, including water, biodiversity, and soils. These impacts have many implications for the overall health of the environment and thus the wildlife, including hummingbirds, living in that area.Miles of rows of blooming almond trees in Northern California near Sacramento.An aerial applicator spraying agricultural chemicals over a crop of potatoes in Idaho.

AGRICULTURE IN THE WESTHummingbirds across western Mexico, the United States, and Canada navigate through and breed within a diverse landscape of fruit and nut orchards, dairy farms, vineyards, cattle ranches, and vegetable and cereal agricultural fields. Overall, the land used for agricultural purposes in the U.S. decreased about 3% from 1945 to 2012, while the location of areas with concentrations of crops have remained consistent (Front. Sustain. Food System 2020). The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that planted acreage in eight major crops across the United States will increase in the early years of 2020, followed by a slight decline in following years. This reflects a rebound in agricultural output after contractions that occurred during COVID-19 (USDA 2021). In California, for example, a vital state for six of our focal species’ migration, breeding, and overwintering habitats, over 400 agricultural products are grown. In 2020, California alone was home to 69,600 farms and ranches and produces over one-third of U.S. vegetables two thirds of nuts and fruits. Similarly in Canada, by 2021, the number of farms in British Columbia had fallen by almost 10%, and the total farm area also decreased by almost 1 million acres. And in Mexico.Agriculture has undergone tremendous changes since the early 20th century, when it was a labor intensive venture that took place in rural areas on small, diversified farms. In the U.S., almost half of the U.S. workforce was engaged in agriculture. Today, farms are highly intensified, including increased mechanization, and specialized on specific crops usually in monocultures, and employs a fraction of the workers. While this change in agricultural practices benefits greater yields it has impacts on ecosystem services, including water, biodiversity, and soils. These impacts have many implications for the overall health of the environment and thus the wildlife, including hummingbirds, living in that area.Miles of rows of blooming almond trees in Northern California near Sacramento.An aerial applicator spraying agricultural chemicals over a crop of potatoes in Idaho.

Intensive and Continuous CroppingIntensive cropping, with its emphasis on cultivating a single crop or few crops, allows farmers to streamline their production and prioritize certain products that require similar conditions for growth and maintenance. However, this approach can come at a cost to biodiversity, as monoculture systems reduce the variety of plant life in the surrounding environment. Traditional farming practices involve periodic fallow periods during which crops were rotated or the land was left nonproductive. This approach was critical to maintaining soil fertility. Many modern farmers have abandoned this method in favor of more intensive farming practices that prioritize higher yields. As a result, the soil is deprived of the necessary time and/or plants required to replenish key nutrients, leading to significant impact on soil health. Agricultural Practices IMPACTS ON HUMMINGBIRDSContinuous or year-round farming practices can result in the loss or fragmentation of natural habitats, reduced availability of food resources, increased exposure to pesticides and other agro-chemicals, and disturbance from farming activities, such as machinery noise and land clearance. These factors can disrupt bird nesting, foraging, and migration patterns, leading to declines in bird populations, changes in species composition, and overall biodiversity loss. Intensive and continuous cropping results in a diminished number and diversity of animals in the area also diminishes. As with other passerines, intensification of farming likely means a loss of food, shelter, nesting, and feeding habitats for hummingbirds. Hummingbirds also depend on flowers for nectar, which are generally lost when intensification of farming occurs across land-scapes. However, the specific impacts of intensified agriculture are largely unknown. Some studies of coffee plantations indicate that while hummingbirds are not the primary pollinators of this product, there is evidence that many species forage on the flowers or on the flowers of trees found in the vicinity or within plantations that have at least some vegetative structure (Morrison and Mendenhall 2020). In North America, there is also evidence from studies on diet that hummingbirds nectar and potentially pollinate in flowering orchards and nut farms. “Monoculture systems hinder maintaining soil fertility and plant life.”ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSIntensive Livestock OperationsAcross the Western United States and Mexico, livestock grazing is a common practice that takes place in diverse rangeland habitats, including mountain meadows, tundra, deserts, and other landscapes. The vegetation in these areas comprises a mix of native and nonnative grasses, shrubs, and forbs, with low precipitation and nutrient-poor soils that make them vulnerable to desertification and the spread of invasive plant species. Rangeland covers up to one-third of the land area in the United States, with ownership divided between private entities (over 50%) and federal government (43%). Despite its ecological significance, however, rangeland is also threatened by intensive livestock operations that prioritize high animal yields. Negative impacts of intense, no rest grazing practices include habitat degradation, loss of floral resources and diminished water availability. In contrast, proper range management that includes rotational grazing can maintain habitat and reduce habitat loss to urban development. IMPACTS ON HUMMINGBIRDSThe detrimental effects of overgrazing by livestock on rangelands include soil erosion and compaction, degradation of native plant life, including the loss of native flowering plants hummingbirds use, and deforestation or degradation of riparian areas within rangeland. Furthermore, confining limited water supply to troughs for animal use removes the wet meadow component of the landscape that contains many floral and insect resources needed by hummingbirds. Livestock waste and runoff also compromise the health of local water sources. Large, deep water storage for livestock can promote bacteria and other health risks as well as risk of drowning while hummingbirds attempt to bathe and drink.Irrigation systems can have far-reaching impacts on waterways and bodies of water. Inadequate drainage or excessive irrigation can lead to a range of issues, including water pollution, salinization, and reduced water availability. These impacts can be particularly pronounced in arid and semi-arid regions, where water resources are already scarce. Hummingbirds in the southwestern U.S. particularly depend on riparian habitats, which are particularly vulnerable to desertification.

Intensive and Continuous CroppingIntensive cropping, with its emphasis on cultivating a single crop or few crops, allows farmers to streamline their production and prioritize certain products that require similar conditions for growth and maintenance. However, this approach can come at a cost to biodiversity, as monoculture systems reduce the variety of plant life in the surrounding environment. Traditional farming practices involve periodic fallow periods during which crops were rotated or the land was left nonproductive. This approach was critical to maintaining soil fertility. Many modern farmers have abandoned this method in favor of more intensive farming practices that prioritize higher yields. As a result, the soil is deprived of the necessary time and/or plants required to replenish key nutrients, leading to significant impact on soil health. Agricultural Practices IMPACTS ON HUMMINGBIRDSContinuous or year-round farming practices can result in the loss or fragmentation of natural habitats, reduced availability of food resources, increased exposure to pesticides and other agro-chemicals, and disturbance from farming activities, such as machinery noise and land clearance. These factors can disrupt bird nesting, foraging, and migration patterns, leading to declines in bird populations, changes in species composition, and overall biodiversity loss. Intensive and continuous cropping results in a diminished number and diversity of animals in the area also diminishes. As with other passerines, intensification of farming likely means a loss of food, shelter, nesting, and feeding habitats for hummingbirds. Hummingbirds also depend on flowers for nectar, which are generally lost when intensification of farming occurs across land-scapes. However, the specific impacts of intensified agriculture are largely unknown. Some studies of coffee plantations indicate that while hummingbirds are not the primary pollinators of this product, there is evidence that many species forage on the flowers or on the flowers of trees found in the vicinity or within plantations that have at least some vegetative structure (Morrison and Mendenhall 2020). In North America, there is also evidence from studies on diet that hummingbirds nectar and potentially pollinate in flowering orchards and nut farms. “Monoculture systems hinder maintaining soil fertility and plant life.”ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSIntensive Livestock OperationsAcross the Western United States and Mexico, livestock grazing is a common practice that takes place in diverse rangeland habitats, including mountain meadows, tundra, deserts, and other landscapes. The vegetation in these areas comprises a mix of native and nonnative grasses, shrubs, and forbs, with low precipitation and nutrient-poor soils that make them vulnerable to desertification and the spread of invasive plant species. Rangeland covers up to one-third of the land area in the United States, with ownership divided between private entities (over 50%) and federal government (43%). Despite its ecological significance, however, rangeland is also threatened by intensive livestock operations that prioritize high animal yields. Negative impacts of intense, no rest grazing practices include habitat degradation, loss of floral resources and diminished water availability. In contrast, proper range management that includes rotational grazing can maintain habitat and reduce habitat loss to urban development. IMPACTS ON HUMMINGBIRDSThe detrimental effects of overgrazing by livestock on rangelands include soil erosion and compaction, degradation of native plant life, including the loss of native flowering plants hummingbirds use, and deforestation or degradation of riparian areas within rangeland. Furthermore, confining limited water supply to troughs for animal use removes the wet meadow component of the landscape that contains many floral and insect resources needed by hummingbirds. Livestock waste and runoff also compromise the health of local water sources. Large, deep water storage for livestock can promote bacteria and other health risks as well as risk of drowning while hummingbirds attempt to bathe and drink.Irrigation systems can have far-reaching impacts on waterways and bodies of water. Inadequate drainage or excessive irrigation can lead to a range of issues, including water pollution, salinization, and reduced water availability. These impacts can be particularly pronounced in arid and semi-arid regions, where water resources are already scarce. Hummingbirds in the southwestern U.S. particularly depend on riparian habitats, which are particularly vulnerable to desertification.

CONSERVATION: AGRICULTURESTRATEGIES AND ACTIONSSTRATEGIES AND ACTIONSSTRATEGY 1IDENTIFYIdentify key agricultural areas/sites and crops where improvements may most benefit western migratory hummingbirdsSTRATEGY 2RESEARCHImprove Knowledge of Hummingbirds in Agricultural Areas• Develop avian survey methodology to better incorporate hummingbirds• Identify key crops and the hummingbirds that may be impacted by them• Identify key stopover sites and/or corridors for migratory hummingbirdsSTRATEGY 3BUILD COLLABORATIONSBuild Collaborations with Agriculture to Improve Farmer Awareness of Methods to Protect Habitat• Provide workshops for cattle ranchers• Support habitat corridors• Identify priority habitats• Support uncropped areas within agricultural fields• Develop BMPS or adapt BMPS that address specific crops and the conservation/restoration of natural habitats• Keystone “structures” in agricultural landscapes• Promote and conserve traditional and ecologically based agricultural practicesRaise Awareness among agencies/organizations• NRDC, Departments of Natural Resources, Farm Service Agency, Land Services programs, landowner programs• Coordinate with other bird conservation activities to incorporate hummingbirds (grassland bird conservation, etc) STRATEGY 4RESTORATION• Restore and protect degraded habitats, especially riparian corridors• Work with agencies and organizations to support efforts that benefit western migratory hummingbirds• Diversify habitats within agricultural landscapes by provided live fences and keystone “structures” (as above)• Improve landscape connectivitySTRATEGY 5WATER CONSERVATION• Promote activities that support water quality and conservation• Develop a forecast of areas where hummingbirds may be most affected by changes in water supply ACTIONS CURRENT EFFORTS• Research (see page ??, current efforts in agricultural areas in California and Canada)• Mexico: Rancher trainings

CONSERVATION: AGRICULTURESTRATEGIES AND ACTIONSSTRATEGIES AND ACTIONSSTRATEGY 1IDENTIFYIdentify key agricultural areas/sites and crops where improvements may most benefit western migratory hummingbirdsSTRATEGY 2RESEARCHImprove Knowledge of Hummingbirds in Agricultural Areas• Develop avian survey methodology to better incorporate hummingbirds• Identify key crops and the hummingbirds that may be impacted by them• Identify key stopover sites and/or corridors for migratory hummingbirdsSTRATEGY 3BUILD COLLABORATIONSBuild Collaborations with Agriculture to Improve Farmer Awareness of Methods to Protect Habitat• Provide workshops for cattle ranchers• Support habitat corridors• Identify priority habitats• Support uncropped areas within agricultural fields• Develop BMPS or adapt BMPS that address specific crops and the conservation/restoration of natural habitats• Keystone “structures” in agricultural landscapes• Promote and conserve traditional and ecologically based agricultural practicesRaise Awareness among agencies/organizations• NRDC, Departments of Natural Resources, Farm Service Agency, Land Services programs, landowner programs• Coordinate with other bird conservation activities to incorporate hummingbirds (grassland bird conservation, etc) STRATEGY 4RESTORATION• Restore and protect degraded habitats, especially riparian corridors• Work with agencies and organizations to support efforts that benefit western migratory hummingbirds• Diversify habitats within agricultural landscapes by provided live fences and keystone “structures” (as above)• Improve landscape connectivitySTRATEGY 5WATER CONSERVATION• Promote activities that support water quality and conservation• Develop a forecast of areas where hummingbirds may be most affected by changes in water supply ACTIONS CURRENT EFFORTS• Research (see page ??, current efforts in agricultural areas in California and Canada)• Mexico: Rancher trainings

AGRICULTUREHummingbirdConservation PlanWESTERN MIGRATORY