TY - JOUR T1 - Nongame bird nesting on CRP lands in the Texas Southern High Plains JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 672 LP - 675 VL - 50 IS - 6 AU - Peter S. Berthelsen AU - Loren M. Smith Y1 - 1995/11/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/50/6/672.abstract N2 - The CRP has added more than 3 million acres of permanent grass cover to the Texas Southern High Plains, one of the most intensively cultivated regions in North America. Our objectives were to determine nongame bird species composition, and document nest density and success in the three most common CRP grass mixtures and in cropland established in the SHP in 1988 and 1989. The three most common cover types were mixtures of(1) blue grama/side-oats grama, (2) blue grama/Kleingrass, and (3) blue grama/plains bluestem. The dominant species nesting in CRP cover types were grasshopper sparrow (1.5 nests/ac [0.6 nest/ha]), Cassin's sparrow (0.7 nests/ac [0.3 nest/ha]), red-winged blackbird (1.5 nests/ac [0.6 nest/ha]), and western meadowlark (0.5 nests/ac [0.2 nest/ha]). Nest success was lower (P<0.05) in 1989 than 1988 for grasshopper sparrow (30% vs. 48%), red-winged blackbird (16% vs. 28%), and western meadowlark (32% vs. 71%), but increased (P<0.05) in Cassin's sparrow (66% vs. 41%). Clutch size also decreased (P<0.05) in 1989 vs. 1988 for grasshopper sparrow (3.7 vs. 4.7), Cassin's sparrow (3.8 vs. 4.6) and red-winged blackbird (3.1 vs. 3.5), but there was no change (P>0.10) in western meadowlark. Possibly, as most CRP cover types became older their value as nongame bird habitat declines. Increases in grassland habitat due to CRP are improving habitat for nongame birds in the Southern High Plains because few nests occur in cropland. ER -