Meadowlarks

I often see meadow larks as I drive down country roads. They might occasionally be sitting on a fence wire, but more often, they are down in the grass -- as they are "ground birds".

Our birds are "Eastern Meadowlarks"

In the last couple of weeks, I have been determined to get some pictures of meadowlarks. However the pictures last week only showed a gray-brown bird against a gray-brown background. Photographing these birds is quite a challenge!



This fellow was quite willing to have his picture taken -- in fact, I have several shots with him singing gaily! But, alas, his beak blends in with the dry grass, so it wasn't all that obvious. The only problem I had with this fellow was that he wouldn't turn around and show off his distinctive chest marks.

So I had to find another "volunteer". The picture below was taken of another bird at another location. However, this fellow was willing to give me a frontal shot, so you can see his markings! While the lighting no doubt had an effect on the colors, I think the bird above had already "changed into" his breeding colors, while the bird below has not quite made the transition. According to my bird book (Sibley) their breeding period is Feb-Aug.