Female Bobolink / Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Yesterday, 20 June 2016, I was thrilled to bits to see two male Bobolinks and a female (seen in this photo). This time, I had driven backwards and forwards along the road where I had seen them a few days ago, with no luck. I gave up and, instead, spent some time photographing a beautiful pair of Mountain Bluebirds. After a while, I told myself it was time to leave the Bluebirds in peace and go and see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. I had literally climbed back into my car and pulled forward maybe six feet, when a bird flew to a fence post. It looked bigger than a Savannah Sparrow, so I was curious. Turned out to be a male Bobolink, who gave me the chance for a few quick shots before flying away. Unfortunately, the sun was not in a good direction.

Time to go and photograph a Tree Swallow, female Red-winged Blackbird and a Snipe and then I returned to the pair of Bluebirds. This time, they had two brief visitors - a Brown-headed Cowbird and a tiny Savannah Sparrow, who insisted on trying to perch on the same fence post as the male Bluebird. It was kind of cute to see the two together.

After a while, I decided it really was time to head for home. While crossing the road to my car, I spotted a bird perched on top of a tree way down the road and discovered it was a Bobolink again. It spent a bit of time flying around with another male and a female, eventually flying to a fence post. I had never seen a female before, but recognized it from various photos I had seen online. Females are a lot smaller than the males and very different colouring. Three quick photos and it was gone. One of the males stayed on a fence post for a little while, but I was looking into the sun and the light was horrible. All three birds took off across the field and stayed down in the grass and I knew this would be a good time to tear myself away and head happily for home. Normally, I don't get out this often, but I know that it won't be long before all the birds I saw today will have migrated. Also, this was the first day of summer, so I really wanted to spend a few hours outdoors.

"Perched on a grass stem or displaying in flight over a field, breeding male Bobolinks are striking. No other North American bird has a white back and black underparts (some have described this look as wearing a tuxedo backwards). Added to this are the male’s rich, straw-colored patch on the head and his bubbling, virtuosic song. As summer ends he molts into a buff and brown female-like plumage. Though they’re still fairly common in grasslands, Bobolink numbers are declining." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id

"The Bobolink inhabits Canada's grassland and agricultural areas from the interior of British Columbia to the east coast. Relative to 1970 levels, this species has shown a large decrease across most of its range, with the exception of the Prairie Potholes Bird Conservation Region where populations have changed little. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the Bobolink as Threatened in 2010 (COSEWIC 2010d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada."

www.ec.gc.ca/soc-sbc/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2014&sL=...