Saving Shrubland for Birds: Management Demonstration Sites

Originating in 2007, Audubon Vermont's Shrubland Bird Program seeks to enhance early successional habitat for priority bird species in the Champlain Valley.

Audubon Vermont currently identifies seven priority shrubland species:  Blue-winged Warbler ,  Golden-winged Warbler ,  Eastern Towhee ,  Brown Thrasher ,  Field Sparrow ,  American Woodcock , and  Prairie Warbler .

Since much of the habitat that these birds rely on is privately owned, working with landowners is critical to large-scale conservation efforts. In partnership with  Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department ,  Natural Resources Conservation Service  (NRCS),  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Partners Program , Audubon helps municipal and private landowners create and maintain shrubland bird habitat on their land.

Scroll down to learn more about eight publicly accessible demonstration sites where management has occurred. Or, click one of the pins on the map to get started.

The Champlain Valley’s critical bird habitats face a number of threats. For example,  Golden-winged Warblers  (Vermivora chrysotpera) are declining due to maturation of early successional forest habitat. Rather than wait for Golden-winged Warblers and other early successional species to end up on a  threatened or endangered species list , we should take action now to conserve birds in the core of their range. One advantage to this approach is that low-cost management activities, education, and monitoring can help maintain or increase the populations of these birds.

 Geprags Park  is a Golden-winged "hotspot" in the northern Champlain Valley. Several pairs of Golden- and Blue-winged Warblers nest in this public park. Maintaining the walking trails in the park helps to preserve the habitat these warblers need. They prefer a mix of open, grassy areas interspersed with shrub thickets and a few saplings. Golden-wings will choose these habitats if they are next to a mature deciduous forest. Audubon Vermont has been working with the Town of Hinesburg's Conservation Commission to enhance the park's shrubland bird habitat.

Want to know who's taking advantage of our habitat management at Geprags?  Click here to view recent sightings at this eBird hotspot. 

(Photo: Banding Demonstration, Geprags Park. Photo by Audubon Vermont)

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The Nature Conservancy's (TNC)  Buckner Preserve  in West Haven is home to the largest known concentration of Golden-winged Warblers in Vermont and possibly New England. Audubon Vermont has been working with TNC's South Lake Champlain office to manage and enhance the shrubland habitats in the preserve since 2014.  

To date, we estimate that over 125 acres of shrubland habitat will be improved by the end of 2018. Many Blue- and Golden-winged Warblers can be seen on the popular and easily accessible  Tim's Trail . This area was managed by the  Stafford Technical Center 's Forestry students in the winter of 2016.

Buckner Preserve is an eBird hotspot.  Click here to view recent sightings. 

(Photo: Shrubland at the Buckner Preserve. Photo by Audubon Vermont.)

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 Colchester Pond  is a large natural area managed by the  Winooski Valley Park District  (WVPD). Audubon Vermont has been working with WVPD since 2014 to develop a strategy for enhancing the shrubland habitat on the western side of the pond.  

Through a contract with the  Natural Resources Conservation Service 's (NRCS)  Environmental Quality Incentives Program  (EQIP), nine acres of habitat were managed in January 2018. Two mechanical brontosauruses cleared areas dominated by white pine and ground up invasive species such as buckthorn and honeysuckle. We retained native dogwoods and other shrubs, allowing them to grow with more sunlight and less competition with invasive species. The end result was a much more open area with patches of regenerating shrubs. At least one Golden-winged Warbler was present in the managed area in the spring of 2018.

Colchester Pond is an eBird hotspot.  Click here to view recent sightings. 

(Photo: Colchester Pond Shrubland. Photo by Audubon Vermont.)

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The 138-acre  Wright Park  is owned and managed by the  Middlebury Area Land Trust (MALT) . This park is a popular area for birding and other recreational activities. Audubon Vermont biologists have been working with MALT since 2010 to enhance the habitat in the northeastern portion of the park for shrubland birds. The  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Partners Program  funded on-the-ground management work that was completed in 2016. In addition, students and staff from the  Hannaford Career Center  worked to manage the area in the fall of 2017.

Wright Park is an eBird hotspot.  Click here to view recent sightings. 

(Photo: Shrubland at Wright Park. By Audubon Vermont.)

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The  Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge  is a 290-acre parcel owned and managed by the Town of Charlotte. The park has a mix of forest, grassland, and shrubland habitats. 

Audubon Vermont secured funding through a  Toyota TogetherGreen  grant to manage some of the shrubland areas of the park by removing invasive species. This work was completed in 2010.

Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge is an eBird hotspot.  Click here to view recent sightings. 

(Photo: Shrubland at Charlotte Park. By Audubon Vermont) 

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 Wheeler Nature Park  is a municipal property of South Burlington comprising 140 acres of forests, grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands. In 2020, Audubon Vermont provided management recommendations to the City of South Burlington to improve shrubland bird habitat in the park. These recommendations included grinding overgrown shrubs to prevent succession into young forests and removing invasive plants to create openings for shrubland birds as well as preserve habitat for grassland species.

In winter 2022, the grinding was completed by Brian Washburn of  Vermont Land Maintenance . Invasives will be removed by hand in fall 2022. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also supports these management efforts.

According to eBird and Audubon Vermont’s own observations, the first Blue-winged Warbler in the park was found in spring 2022—a promising sign for the efficacy of habitat management.

Wheeler Nature Park is an eBird hotspot.  Click here to view recent sightings. 

(Photo: An excavator clears overgrown brush to preserve shrubland bird habitat at Wheeler. By Audubon Vermont.)

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 Champlain Valley Union High School  in Hinesburg holds 11 acres of shrubland in the northern tip of campus. From 2018 to 2022, Audubon Vermont worked alongside CVU students and staff to remove invasive plants from this area, with the goal of enhancing habitat for Golden-winged Warblers and other shrubland birds. This work was funded by the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Audubon Vermont seeks to engage the next generation of local land stewards and conservation advocates by further integrating habitat management into the CVU curriculum.

(Photo: An excavator clears trees at CVU to set back succession to shrubland. By Audubon Vermont.)

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