Streaked Horned Lark Distribution on the mid-Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Breeding Seasons 2006 and 2007

Although populations are vulnerable at present, strigata’s general ecological requirements provide opportunity for a cooperative (public and private sector) effort to effectively restore and protect populations before more stringent federal protections are required. Information on general habitat associations, population distribution, and population size is needed to facilitate development of habitat management recommendations and conservation strategies. This report focuses on strigata’s winter and breeding distribution across the three mid-Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuges (NWR’s). Because they contain good quality habitat that may be available for long-term management, these refuges contain some of the most important breeding sites remaining in the valley.

The following report is the result of two exhaustive surveys conducted during the breeding seasons of 2006 and 2007, and less rigorous surveys conducted in the winters of 2005-2007.

This report has 2 objectives: 1) to summarize what is now known of strigata’s breeding and wintering distribution across William Finley (Finley), Baskett Slough (Baskett), and Ankeney NWR’s, and 2) to summarize quantitative data on occupied winter habitat at BS and WF collected winter 2007.