Does no-till soybean farming provide any benefits for birds?

•Greater densities of nests were found in no-till versus tilled soybeans.•Nests in no-till had a greater survival rate than those in tilled soybeans.•The avian community of no-till had greater conservation value versus tilled fields.•Greater crop residue in no-till resulted in greater nest density and nest survival.

Nesting success and avian communities were compared between tilled and no-till soybean fields in Illinois. No-till had greater densities of birds than tilled fields, and the overall community in no-till was of greater conservation value due to more grassland birds using no-till compared with tilled fields. Nesting density was greater in no-till (4.5 nests/100 ha) than in tilled (1.6) fields. The most common nesting species were American robins, vesper sparrows, and mourning doves. Nest success, as estimated from daily survival rates, was 19.4% in no-till and 9.4% in tilled fields. Predation was the main cause of nest failure, but 24.4% of failures were caused by farm machinery. The authors propose that the previous year's crop residue and greater abundance of weedy plants in no-till resulted in increased nesting and foraging activity in no-till and greater nest success because of increased opportunity to conceal nests in no-till compared to tilled fields. No-till provides greater benefits to birds than tilled fields, and the large amount of acreage in row crops dictates that we understand the contribution of no-till fields to grassland bird populations.