I left the frigid cottage (time to investigate propane heating??? grrr) soon after dawn this morning with more warbling in mind but was almost immediately side-tracked by a field of glorious Eastern Meadowlarks:
Never before had I enjoyed such great views of these grassland harbingers of Spring (I am still trying to forget the frost warnings of the past two evenings!), allowing me to better appreciate their field markings, like the white sides of its short tail:
Its head appears quite flat, with quite the pointed bill:
An excellent view of its bold crown stripes:
And then there's that awesome bright yellow, in this morning's light it was blindingly beautiful:
The black breast-band contrasts dramatically with the yellow:
Another view of the Eastern Meadowlark in a tree, look at those long legs!
The bright yellow also contrasts with the many brown streaks:
That wonderful song of the Meadowlark was accompanied this morning by the mechanical song of invisible Bobolinks:
A seemingly effortless lift-off with those long legs!
Not the sharpest photo but it's included to show more markings that I've rarely seen in the field as they move so fast:
Without a doubt, though, this is my all-time favorite view from today's Eastern Meadowlark encounter, what a fabulous bird!
1 comment:
Terrific study, Janice. Now (well, soon) you need to find a nest and document the continuing story.
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