Native Plants

1999 Northern Harrier Project Summary

Sheriff's Meadow Foundation received funds from the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program to locate and monitor the success of Northern Harrier nests on the Vineyard in 1999. The harrier, also known as the Marsh Hawk, is listed as a Threatened Species in the state. Formerly a common breeder, their population is now restricted almost entirely to off-shore islands, such as Martha's Vineyard. Their decline has been attributed to the loss and degradation of open habitats.

SMF was very fortunate to hire Dr. Rhys Bowen to conduct the study. His work greatly added to the base of knowledge gathered by earlier studies on the island (1971-74 by R.O. Bierregaard and 1995 by SMF).

In summary, Rhys located 20 harrier nests from Chappaquiddick to Aquinnah. Of these 20 nests, 12 successfully fledged a total of 35 young. Of the remaining seven, six failed during the egg stage and the outcome of one is unknown. Because of the island's large size and the difficulty in locating nesting pairs (very labor intensive work), Rhys was not able to locate all nesting pairs, however he estimated there were somewhere between 20 and 30 nests in 1999! The table below compares 1999 data with previous years, and shows that nest success and fledging rate have remained relatively constant over the past 25 years. In addition to monitoring nests, Rhys also conducted vegetation surveys around nest sites to determine vegetative characteristics of nest locations.

Comparison with Data from Previous Years

*Total nests for which the outcome is known. Therefore, the much greater number in 1999 reflects greater research effort, not necessarily an increasing population.

The information that Rhys has gathered will be a valuable planning tool to assist in protecting and managing nesting habitat in the future. For example, the location of 6 nests (approximately 1/3 of those found) in the State Forest may have implications for future management of this area.

Moth Monitoring

Prescribed Burns