Every spring I head out to the same field to photograph bobolinks.

I know the hotspots to find them and wait patiently on the trails that cut through the fields for one to perch within reach of my zoom lens.

Even as I write this, several months after my latest adventure, I am picturing a male bobolink with its amazing black and white plumage accented by a large yellow patch on the back of his head. New England boasts many colorful birds, especially in the spring, and bobolinks certainly fit that bill.

As I was walking out of the field, I noticed a female bobolink perched among the tall grasses. I stopped in my tracks and snapped several photos of the willing subject. She didn’t have the striking colors or patterns of the male, but she had a subtle, understated beauty nonetheless. 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the female bobolink as “warm buffy brown, streaked with dark brown on the back and flanks, and bold brown stripes on the crown.” That sounds about right. It must be a tough job having to write descriptions of brownish birds and capturing the subtle beauty they each possess.