Bustard Lek Confirmed

On the road to our field site this summer, we were able to confirm the existence of a bustard lek (breeding site) we had long suspected to exist. We were elated to observe displaying males and three nesting females. However, two weeks later we were dismayed to hear that pesticides had been sprayed in the fields preferred by the bustards. Pesticides decrease the protein-rich insect food base essential to rapid growth of chicks, and trucks spraying pesticides sometimes crush eggs and flush mothers, making eggs and young vulnerable to predators.

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