Yesterday I found my four-hundredth species of bird! Number four-hundred was this elusive little grasshopper sparrow, found in the spectacular grasslands habitat that is being restored and protected at Shaker Village near Lexington, Kentucky. For the casual observer, this is not a species one would notice. Even if you were among them as I was yesterday, you would have to listen and look carefully to see one. They have a soft voice, and their song is a high buzz that you could easily mistake for an insect. They stay deep in the tall grasses. Its species name, savannarum, literally means “of the savannas." They are well-camouflaged and secretive, building hidden nests directly on the ground in the open prairie. And even if you did happen to see one, it would understandably fall into the category of “LBB” (Little Brown Bird). Casual observers don’t spot grasshopper sparrows.
Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) | Shaker Village, Harrodsburg, KY
But I am not a casual observer. Every time I am out in the field with my camera, I have learned to pay close attention to the LBBs, because you never know when a “lifer” is hidden among the more common song sparrows and field sparrows. I was able to find four grasshopper sparrows yesterday, but even so, it took years and 399 other species before I found my first. Why is that?
Well, it’s partly because they are small, secretive, quiet, and well-camouflaged. But it is also because for the four grasshopper sparrows I found yesterday, I would have likely found thirteen in 1970. Populations of grasshopper sparrows have declined 68% since then, an alarming trend that is seen in all grassland birds including the bobolink (#399), the eastern meadowlark, the sage grouse, the prairie falcon, and many others. When I was young I remember learning to whistle the call of the Northern bobwhite quail (another bird that says it’s name), and I remember the unseen birds calling back to me. It has been decades since I last heard that sound - bobwhite populations are down 85% since my childhood. These grassland birds - those that depend on the habitats of the open prairies - are declining faster than any other community of birds in the United States. And why is that?
It’s not too hard to figure out. More than 95% of our Central Tallgrass Prairie has been developed to meet human needs, mainly agriculture and urbanization. Grassland bird populations are declining because grassland habitat is declining. So what can we do about that? People have to eat, and we have to have a place to live too, right?
Protected Grasslands Habitat | Shaker Village, Harrodsburg, KY
Certainly. Humans have a right to exist too. Just like grasshopper sparrows and all other living organisms, we are driven by powerful biological forces to survive and reproduce. We humans, however, differ in one incredible way. We can choose to ignore our biology when it makes sense to do so. People and grasshopper sparrows alike are hard-wired to consume more when resources are plentiful. We are hard-wired to defend ourselves when we feel threatened. We are hard-wired to find and build shelter for ourselves and our families. We are hard-wired to improve our position in the dominance hierarchy. But unlike animals, humans are not predestined to act on those biological impulses. We get to decide. This ability to choose was captured eloquently in one of the most profound insights I know of:
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
We humans have the unique ability to ask ourselves, is it really likely that I will run out of food this winter? Am I really being threatened here, and do I really need to respond with anger? Do I really need to acquire more stuff, or is this my inner-animal trying to move up the pecking order?
Sometimes the answer is yes. We have survived largely because of those innate drives, and we would ignore them at our peril. But often the answer is no. The biological impulses that served our ancestors so well on the savanna’s of Africa do not always serve us so well today. This isn’t easy - I certainly struggle (and often fail) to overrule my biological impulse to eat the donut when donuts are plentiful, for example. So the intent here is not to judge the choices people make, but rather to simply notice that we can choose. As far as we know, among all animals, homo sapiens has unique access to that space between stimulus and response. The point is to find it more often and expand it, because therein lies our growth and our freedom. Other animals do not have that power, and this fact brings to mind another famous quote:
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
I believe grassland birds and human beings alike have a right to survive and thrive. But unlike other animals, we can make choices they can’t make, and so I also believe that along with that powerful ability to choose comes great responsibility - to each other, to our planet, and to grasshopper sparrows, too.
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Grasshopper Sparrow Singing in Tall Grass Habitat | Shaker Village, Harrodsburg, KY
* This quote is generally attributed to Benjamin Franklin Parker, aka “Uncle Ben,” uncle of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man:-) And although Stan Lee made this quote famous in his Spider-Man comics (to the extent that it is referred to as the “Peter Parker principle”) its roots are much deeper, dating back to at least the French Revolution.