Dickcissels – big year?

[Chuck AndersonParticipant]

A couple of days ago I did my annual USGS breeding bird route. I was curious prior to my start if the birds would be different this year due to the farm conditions. Many farmers in the area did not plant this year and other that did, had very mature weeds due to relentless rains this spring.

In the 8 years or so that I have done this route, my typical count for Dickcissels was about 1. This year I got 9 calling birds on the route. I also heard others off my route area.

Another bird that was up significantly was Mockingbird (10) but I don’t see the connection between those numbers and the unplanted fields.

[BrandonBrywczynskiModerator]

Chuck I have been pondering the impact of so many fields going weedy. Occasionally I sub in a golf league at Crosswinds in Perrysburg and had my first dickcissel of the year there a couple weeks ago. Two days ago on my way back from the inlaws in Delta there was one singing male at CR 9 and CR D in Fulton County. Weedy fields all around. I’d like to add that for whatever reason I have kind of turned the bird switch off lately so both instances were extremely casual observations. I imagine there would be plenty more birds with a more attentive observer.

[Becky CullenParticipant]

Chuck,

Jeff found a field with Dickcissels NE of Bowling Green along Chamberlain Rd. which we re-checked July 5. There were around a dozen singing Dickcissels, and those were just the ones that were close enough to the road to be heard. It was a fallow field with tall weeds. During our somewhat quick drive-by, I found 1 Bobolink with a young bird in the same field rather than it’s normal habitat (wheat field) on the opposite side of the road.

Becky

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