How Much Work Can a Working Bird Work?

In a fledgling collaboration, Palmer Land Conservancy and Aiken Audubon Society have joined forces to enhance ecosystem resilience. Palmer is honored to have been awarded a grant from Aiken Audubon Society, along with the generous donation of 35 nest boxes from Wild Birds Unlimited. 

These resources will provide strategic infrastructure to encourage birds to make their homes in areas protected by Palmer. By investing in these beneficial upgrades, we’re fostering healthier lands that enrich the overall biodiversity of our cherished landscapes. Birds—those keen-eyed hunters—have always played a key role in healthy ecosystems, keeping the delicate balance of life in check. Now, through thoughtful intervention, Palmer’s stewardship team welcomes them to work alongside us in caring for the land we've promised to protect.

A Partnership Takes Flight

Palmer Land Conservancy's stewardship team watches over more than 138,000 acres of conserved land across southern Colorado. Palmer’s stewardship role isn't solely about monitoring legal agreements; it's about partnering with landowners to provide expert insights and guidance on enhancing the conservation values of these landscapes.

Our partnership with Aiken Audubon Society, with support from Wild Birds Unlimited, serves three vital purposes: increasing bird presence on conserved lands through strategic infrastructure improvements, studying how raptor perching poles impact the shortgrass prairie ecosystem (in collaboration with Colorado College), and creating opportunities for public education and bird viewing.

When the opportunity for this grant appeared, our stewardship staff recognized it as a perfect alignment of missions—promoting the enjoyment, study, and conservation of birds while simultaneously providing valuable services to our landowners and their protected properties.

Theron Verna, Land Stewardship Manager, works to install a nest box on a Palmer-protected open space.

Why Birds Matter 

As human development continues to transform Colorado's landscape, the conservation of bird habitat becomes increasingly critical. Conserved lands offer sanctuary—places where birds can thrive alongside limited human activities, such as ranching, farming, and outdoor recreation.

The benefits we're seeking are twofold. First, we're installing nest boxes to support bird presence and reproduction on conserved lands throughout southeastern Colorado. Second, we're harnessing the ecosystem services that birds naturally provide by installing perching infrastructure that helps control pest populations—both rodents and insects—creating a positive feedback loop that benefits both the land and the birds themselves.

Bringing Birds Back to Work

Across more than 30 diverse properties—ranging from a small 5.45-acre urban wildlife refuge to a vast 24,777-acre ranch—we are implementing thoughtful improvements designed with both birds and the land in mind.

Studies show that a single barn owl family can consume up to 3,000 rodents in a year. Imagine the pest control capabilities of several barn owl families on a property cultivating produce such as the iconic Rocky Ford watermelon. These “working birds” naturally control rodent and insect species, providing landowners with a sustainable pest control option that is less environmentally and economically costly than alternatives such as baiting. 

A barn owl box installed in on Palmer-protected ranch

Barn owls are a single example of how integrating birds into various land uses can enhance conservation values, operational sustainability, and productivity, all while promoting their conservation. Attracting them is as simple as providing suitable nesting opportunities via nest boxes. Nest boxes, carefully placed and monitored, offer a haven for cavity-nesting species that might otherwise struggle to find appropriate homes in our modified landscapes.

Raptor poles—constructed perches—invite birds of prey to survey the landscape, providing them advantageous hunting positions while naturally controlling rodent populations that might otherwise damage grasslands or agricultural operations.

A newly installed raptor perch

The Wisdom of Working with Nature

There is a profound simplicity in this approach—one that acknowledges the inherent wisdom of natural systems. For generations, farmers and ranchers have recognized birds as allies in land management. Now, with intentional infrastructure and scientific monitoring, we're formalizing and enhancing this ancient partnership. Although birds have inherent value beyond their contributions to human endeavors, we recognize the benefits they bring to healthy landscapes.

A Future Taking Wing

By inviting birds back into their natural roles as ecosystem managers, we honor both the wild nature of these creatures and the complexity of these natural systems. This project isn't about controlling nature but about stepping back and allowing natural relationships to reassert themselves.

As these various properties welcome their winged stewards, we anticipate cascading benefits: healthier grasslands, reduced pest pressure, increased biodiversity, and stronger connections between people and the natural world. 

Wildlife cameras and recording systems will document bird behaviors, feeding habits, and interactions, creating valuable data for long-term study. This technology opens doors for community science involvement, allowing citizens to observe these magnificent creatures in their natural context, cultivate a deeper connection with nature, and share knowledge with others. The cameras and monitoring systems will tell stories of success and challenge, helping us refine our approaches and share knowledge with other conservation organizations.

Palmer Land Conservancy is deeply grateful for Aiken Audubon Society's support of this project. Together, we aim to enhance the presence and propagation of birds on conserved lands while providing these lands with the critical ecosystem services they need. Rather than "killing two birds with one stone," we're gaining a "bird's eye view" of conservation—one that recognizes the importance of birds and their contributions to the lands we all love. Ultimately, this work reminds us that the healthiest landscapes are those where all creatures, from the smallest insect to the most majestic raptor, find their rightful place within the great Colorado landscape.