Elusive Field Birds
July 9th, 2015
They are who I came to Constance Bay Road looking for. They proved more challenging than the horses!
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Near the intersection of Dunrobin and Constance Bay Roads is one of the best spots in our area for viewing grassland birds. The extensive horse-grazed (but not over-grazed) pastures there support an abundant population of various species, many of whom are in decline generally due to the loss of this kind of habitat. Three songs are ever-present in summer, one being the resonant chatter of Bobolinks (pronounced BAHbuhlinks), pictured above. To me it always sounds electronic, like a chattering R2-D2. They often sing in display flight, compensating for the lack of good high perches in their habitat of choice.
It seems like all of my (few) photo ops of Bobolinks happen in late spring and midsummer, when testosterone fever is high. One of these males had been chasing the other and both briefly landed on the fence nearby. You can see that the upper-right bird literally has his hackles up!
The bashful meadowlark--as close as I was able to get to one. I always dream that some day testosterone fever will land one of these beauties on a fence right next to me, but it hasn't happened yet. It seemed to be holding a fuzzy caterpillar, but was reluctant to bring its bounty to the nest with me watching, even from a good distance away.
Interestingly, meadowlarks camouflage really well--on the ground they keep their breasts down and all you see is the brown back that looks like a patch of dead grass, not the vivid yellow that is revealed when one perches upright on a post to display and sing. They sing a sweet melody that to me epitomizes the feeling of a lazy, hazy summer day.
A Savannah Sparrow and its trademark yellow eyebrows. Their song has two trills, the first insect-like, the second like a dissolving mist. Often this song seems to rise right out of the grass. Sometimes it actually does; other times they're in plain view on the fence but you just don't notice them.
A fourth, rarer sound you might hear on Constance Bay Road is the surpassingly strange "wolf whistle" of the Upland Sandpiper. This is a declining species throughout North America. I'm very happy that there is still a place near Ottawa where I can go and have a chance of hearing it.
1680x1050 wallpaper
In the not-so-elusive category, this Red-Winged Blackbird. He must have had a fledgling or two hidden in the tall growth. Every time I walked past that spot he and his mate went nuts!
July 9th, 2015
They are who I came to Constance Bay Road looking for. They proved more challenging than the horses!
1680x1050 wallpaper
Near the intersection of Dunrobin and Constance Bay Roads is one of the best spots in our area for viewing grassland birds. The extensive horse-grazed (but not over-grazed) pastures there support an abundant population of various species, many of whom are in decline generally due to the loss of this kind of habitat. Three songs are ever-present in summer, one being the resonant chatter of Bobolinks (pronounced BAHbuhlinks), pictured above. To me it always sounds electronic, like a chattering R2-D2. They often sing in display flight, compensating for the lack of good high perches in their habitat of choice.
It seems like all of my (few) photo ops of Bobolinks happen in late spring and midsummer, when testosterone fever is high. One of these males had been chasing the other and both briefly landed on the fence nearby. You can see that the upper-right bird literally has his hackles up!
The bashful meadowlark--as close as I was able to get to one. I always dream that some day testosterone fever will land one of these beauties on a fence right next to me, but it hasn't happened yet. It seemed to be holding a fuzzy caterpillar, but was reluctant to bring its bounty to the nest with me watching, even from a good distance away.
Interestingly, meadowlarks camouflage really well--on the ground they keep their breasts down and all you see is the brown back that looks like a patch of dead grass, not the vivid yellow that is revealed when one perches upright on a post to display and sing. They sing a sweet melody that to me epitomizes the feeling of a lazy, hazy summer day.
A Savannah Sparrow and its trademark yellow eyebrows. Their song has two trills, the first insect-like, the second like a dissolving mist. Often this song seems to rise right out of the grass. Sometimes it actually does; other times they're in plain view on the fence but you just don't notice them.
A fourth, rarer sound you might hear on Constance Bay Road is the surpassingly strange "wolf whistle" of the Upland Sandpiper. This is a declining species throughout North America. I'm very happy that there is still a place near Ottawa where I can go and have a chance of hearing it.
1680x1050 wallpaper
In the not-so-elusive category, this Red-Winged Blackbird. He must have had a fledgling or two hidden in the tall growth. Every time I walked past that spot he and his mate went nuts!
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