Year-Round Bird Assemblage and Habitat Use in a Working Farm Landscape in the Northeastern United States

In the fall of 2016, a long-term monitoring program for birds and the habitats they use was established at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub in Hurley, New York. Over the past ten field seasons, the data collection methods have remained largely unchanged, minus the addition of several new habitats, elimination of one survey route and changes in volunteer observers over time. The result is a robust and detailed database of bird habitat use and phenology year-round on the farm. From October 2016 to the present, Farm Hub staff and volunteers have documented 194 bird species as of May 2025 and 105,500 bird observations with associated habitat use data across 30 habitat types since the end of 2023 (Data from 2024 and 2025 in process). These observations were made year-round to capture overwintering, spring migration, nesting and fall migration habitat use and species inventory. Each of the 6 routes have been surveyed approximately 103 times each for a total of over 1,200 person hours since the project began. The farm itself encompasses over 1600 acres and has changed during the course of this project from what was historically a conventional sweet corn operation, to a transitional operation and finally to a certified organic operation focusing on small grains, dried beans, soybeans, grain corn, agroforestry and mixed vegetables with cover cropping used extensively as well as traditional tillage and minimum tillage growing practices used. The Hudson Valley Farm Hub hosts and supports research, provides farmer training, demonstrates on-farm practices, and supports food distribution channels that prioritize people and planet. This project was established to:• Create a database of detailed information on use of cropped and uncropped farmland habitats year-round by birds• Contribute to the regional conservation and stewardship of birds on farmland through monitoring and habitat management.• Create historic records of species diversity and phenology for birds of the Hurley Flats• Contribute to the regional conservation and stewardship of birds on farms through community engagement. We imagine a regional food system in which birds are valued and celebrated and can thrive. We believe a holistic approach combining monitoring, research, habitat management and public engagement is the key to success. Collecting habitat use data indicates in this, and possibly similar landscape contexts, which species are where and when. This in turn can inform habitat management such as mowing practices, installation of artificial perches, cash crop selection and rotation, cover crop selection termination and rotation, use of nest boxes and more. Many studies focus on nesting habitat alone, while these data examine habitat use year-round during nesting as well as wintering and migratory periods. Because the manner in which birds endure the winter months influences their nest success, it is critical to look at access to habitat year-round, not just during the nesting season. In addition, the landscape context of the Farm Hub is one in which much of the surrounding land is forested, with a patchwork of smaller farms. This is in contrast to other parts of the region, such as western New York and parts of Vermont which feature more open landscapes with larger acreages of connected pasture and row crop areas. In similar landscapes with farms, or abandoned farms surrounded by forested land, this project could potentially inform species diversity studies, habitat use and habitat management in similar locations across the region. The author imagines a series of smaller analyses and studies stemming from this work to focus more specifically on research questions.