The American Birding Podcast 10-14: How to be Hawky with Janet Ng
Apr 9, 2026
Dr. Janet Ng, a wildlife ecologist who studies how oil, gas and wind development affects prairie raptors and grasslands. She discusses visible industrial footprints across the southern Canadian plains. She explains how hawks and other birds respond to habitat patchiness and development. She describes collaborative research, nest monitoring with video, and mapping tools to guide smarter siting and reclamation.
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Remnant Native Grassland Still Drives Biodiversity
- The southern Canadian Great Plains are heavily altered but still retain 20–35% native grassland in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
- That remnant native grassland supports diverse wildlife and reveals habitat quality through which birds are singing where you sit.
Birdsong Reveals Tiny Habitat Gradients
- Bird community composition maps onto fine-scale grass structure and land use, so song mixes reveal grazing intensity and road proximity.
- Species like McCown's longspur prefer very short grazed turf while chestnut-collared longspurs and savannah sparrows use longer, litter-rich grass.
Use Collaborative Science To Inform Land Use
- Partner industry, regulators, and academics to ask targeted questions about species responses to infrastructure.
- Use that collaborative science to produce actionable recommendations that industry will accept and regulators can enforce.