Upland Sandpipers select for later time since fire and experience high nest survival in grasslands managed with patch-burn grazing.

This article focuses on assessing the effects of patch-burn grazing (PBG) on nest site selection and survival of Upland Sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda), a grassland obligate shorebird, on private lands in southwestern North Dakota. The study found that Upland Sandpipers avoided patches burned one year prior (1 year since fire, YSF) and selected patches with two and three years since fire for nesting, favoring areas with dense vegetation and less bare ground. Nest survival was high overall, with 51 of 59 nests successfully hatching, indicating that PBG can provide suitable nesting habitat despite annual prescribed fire and livestock grazing during the breeding season. These findings suggest that PBG is a compatible grassland management strategy that promotes structural heterogeneity beneficial for Upland Sandpiper conservation within their breeding range.