Upland sandpiper nesting and management in North Dakota

Nests of 195 upland sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda) on the Missouri Coteau of North Dakota generally were well concealed by grassy vegetation which ranged from 15.4-30.8 cm in height. Nest densities ranged from 0.3 per 40.5 ha on annually tilled croplands to 6.8 per 40.5 ha on native grasslands during the second growing season after a prescribed burn. Hatching success in native grasslands varied from 48 percent on annually grazed areas to 71 percent on both undisturbed and burned areas. No production was observed on annually tilled croplands and production was comparatively low on former cropland fields seeded to grass-legume mixtures. Expressed as hatched nests per 40.5 ha, production was 0.5 for annually grazed grassland, 1.1 for undisturbed grassland, and 2.2 for grassland managed by prescribed burning. To maintain native grasslands in the best condition for upland sandpiper nesting we recommend rotational burning at 3-year intervals; otherwise grasslands should remain undisturbed.