For the Birds: Wrens, bobolinks and cranes (yes, cranes)

Photo by Chris Bosak – Bobolink in New England field.

House wrens and American goldfinches have been my main source of avian entertainment this past week.

Both of these birds nest, on average, later than most other songbirds. While birds such as phoebes and robins get started in March or April, house wrens and goldfinches start in late spring/early summer. I hear the disjointed, but still rather cheerful, song of the house wren every time I walk out my door. The goldfinches are more quiet, but highly visible in their bright yellow plumage going back and forth to the nest site.

Goldfinches feed their babies a vegetarian/seed diet so the early insect hatch that prompts so many other songbirds to nest is of no practical to goldfinches. Rather, they must wait until flowers to bloom and go to seed before raising their young. Their primary diet consists of milkweed, thistle and other “weeds.”

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A walk among bobolinks

Photo by Chris Bosak — Bobolink in New England, May 2022.

One of the highlights of the post-spring migration rush in New England is to visit a field in New England where bobolinks nest. Luckily, I have one fairly close to where I live — Happy Landings in Brookfield, Connecticut. The bobolinks’ bubbly song (which reminds me of R2-D2) fills the air as red-winged blackbirds and yellow warblers provide an apt auditory background. Here are a few shots of a recent walk in the field.

Photo by Chris Bosak — Bobolink in New England, May 2022.

Photo by Chris Bosak — Bobolink in New England, May 2022.

Photo by Chris Bosak — Bobolink in New England, May 2022.

More dimorphism, this time with bobolinks

Photo by Chris Bosak
A female bobolink perches on a stalk in New England, May 2020.

A Day on Merganser Lake

Yesterday, I showed a male and female American redstart as an example of sexual dimorphism (male and female look different.) Today, here’s the bobolink, a beloved bird of our fields. Another good example of dimorphism. Click here for yesterday’s post.

Here’s the male …

Photo by Chris Bosak
A male bobolink perches on a branch in Brookfield, CT, May 2019.
Photo by Chris Bosak A male bobolink perches in a small tree and overlooks the fields at Happy Landings in Brookfield, CT.
Photo by Chris Bosak A male bobolink perches in a small tree and overlooks the fields at Happy Landings in Brookfield, CT.