Male Eastern Meadowlarks In Full Song
Sweet-spring-is-here…..sweet-spring-is-here…” Three to five, but often four, high-pitched plaintive notes can be heard from the tops of trees and fence posts once Eastern Meadowlarks have returned the open country and farmland of northern New England from their more southerly wintering grounds. Likely spots to find these members of the blackbird family breeding include the Champlain Valley of Vermont or the more southerly portions of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire as well as Maine coastal regions.
Once territorial males arrive, they fill the air with song. The flute-like whistles of their primary song gently descend in pitch and are immediately identifiable. Singing declines during incubation but resumes with the original intensity during renesting (they often have two broods). One hundred different song patterns have been identified but their primary song is sung often, both early in the morning and fairly late in the afternoon. Should you hear this hauntingly beautiful series of notes, scan the horizon for the tallest tree or structure and you may be rewarded with the sight of a male’s bright yellow underparts and chest that bears a striking black chevron. (To hear an Eastern Meadowlark singing go to https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Meadowlark/sounds.)
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Saving Grassland Birds
Grassland birds are disappearing in the Northeast. Among the species affected are Bobolinks, whose numbers have been declining since the 1900’s. One of the primary reasons for this decline is the mowing practices of farmers. Boblinks nest on the ground, in fields. Farmers’ now mow earlier and more frequently than in the past. Their first mowing (which has the highest protein content and the greatest yield) coincides with Bobolinks’ peak nesting time. These birds migrate 6,000 miles from their wintering grounds in South America and arrive in New England to breed in mid-late May, with young hatching in mid-June. Needless to say, many of their nests fail to produce young given the current mowing schedule of many farmers.
An organization called The Bobolink Project was formed to help farmers protect grassland birds. They accept donations which they use to reimburse farmers who sign up to delay their first cut of hay. This allows nesting grassland birds such as Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows, Upland Sandpipers, and Grasshopper Sparrows to hopefully remain undisturbed until the successful fledging of their young. To learn more about adjusting mowing schedules to outside the peak breeding season of grassland birds (May 15 – August 15) and The Boblink Project, go to www.bobolinkproject.com .
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