From the text ... 'Prescribed burning during the growing season expands the window for completing annual burn plans, mimics natural fire regimes in much of the South, and achieves ecological effects that vary considerably from dormant season burns. One concern with burning in the growing season (March to September) is potential impacts to birds that nest on or close to the ground, ranging from game birds, such as northern bobwhite and wild turkey, to rare species like Bachman's and Henslow's sparrows. Timing prescribed burns to avoid ground nests has been an important topic in the South for 80 years. During much of that period, the general guideline for game birds was to burn in late winter or early spring, after hunting season and before the nesting season. Research over the last 25 years has generally shown that even with burns during the nesting season, oversll effects on breeding success and population levels may be less than believed earlier. This fact sheet summarizes recent publications on the effects of growing-season burns on ground-nesting birds.'