By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Members of Saving Birds Through Habitat recognized owners of the Chateau Grand Traverse last Wednesday morning for their forward thinking environmental policies that benefit native birds and plants.
The non-profit national bird habitat organization, which is based in Omena, gave father-son co-owners Ed and Sean O'Keefe a plaque of appreciation for their policies. This is the first business that Saving Birds Through Habitat has recognized for their bird-habitat-friendly policies and they hope it will not be the last.
Wednesday morning's informal ceremony was held on the deck of the winery and followed by a visit to the property's pond, where a walkabout gave the O'Keefes additional ideas.
"You're kind of at the cutting edge," said Kay Charter, founder of Saving Birds Through Habitat. "It helps to raise awareness as to how agriculture can still work with the environment."
"This program is designed to encourage viticulturists and orchardists to try to become more earth friendly, more bird friendly," she added of the award.
The 32-year-old Chateau Grand Traverse winery has been a pioneer on the peninsula since it's founding and maintains that philosophy today. One of their first steps to encouraging bird habitat was to put up kestrel boxes. They wanted to encourage these birds to stay and help control ground squirrels, which were filching their crop.
The winery also uses organic compost, minimizes spraying and mowing, removes non-native plants from non-vineyard areas and encourages wildlife. The organization has found that establishing and maintaining a good bird habitat is just good policy for growing grapes and making wine.
"We're certainly not 100 percent organic but we're moving towards it," said Sean O'Keefe, who learned the art of winemaking in Germany. "As time went on, and from speaking to other people, vineyard managers, before we knew it we were putting up bird houses everywhere and tending to the pond."
"We look at it as one piece that all works together," he summarized of their winery's general philosophy. "You have to have faith, but once you go on the path, stick with it."
A small pond on the property, put in by Ed O'Keefe 30 years ago, is one of the central features of their habitat-friendly environment. Nesting boxes surround the small pond to encourage tree swallows and bat houses provide shelter for these natural insect predators. In the pond, the turtles and amphibians are back, an excellent sign of habitat health.
The process of making bird-friendly habitat also includes evaluating and managing the plants. At Chateau Grand Traverse, they are noting the invasive plant species, which do not contribute to local animal, bird and insect habitats, and plan to remove them. For example, the wild olives around the pond can quickly take over the area if not removed. These invasive plants do not feed native creatures and should be uprooted to make room for native growth, such as willows.
"Native plants hosts the insects that feed the birds, amphibians, some reptiles and some mammals," said Charter. "[Non-native plants] can be a very sterile habitat, even if it's green and pretty."
Members of Saving Birds Through Habitat have also surveyed the 89-acre property, which has about 53 acres in grapes. They found 42 and counting species of birds, ranging from orioles, warblers and buntings to hawks, swallows and bluebirds. This vibrant array of avian life is another marker of the owners' success at habitat building.
"You want a diversity of habitats and you have a diversity of habitats," noted Marlin Bussey, president of Saving Birds Through Habitat. "Growing grapes is really close to nature and the next step is to get the habitat so it attracts birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies."