Singin’ in the Sunshine…by Brad Marks

It is a big week for me. The first phase of my medical “bad boy” sentencing is up this Thursday! Fingers crossed everything looks good so I can transition into the next term consisting of a walking boot and physical therapy. I cannot wait to be at least semi-mobile again. Before the good advice comes pouring in, Linda already gave me the “treatment” yesterday at dinner. {With a stern look that would be truly forbidding to those less conditioned to it hehehe} “Now, you know what to do the next time you think you turned your ankle in a race RIGHT!?!” “Yes” I proudly responded without a moments hesitation “..not tell you about it!”. She may seem flabbergasted, exhausted, disappointed and claws out ready to pounce, but deep down inside she knows me better than that (and still agreed to marry me – crazy eh!). Honestly, I will try to be more careful – these last couple of years have been rough on the body. While I mentally prepare for what is going to be some brutal first therapy sessions, going to let Brad take you with him on another Colorado adventure. Oh, Brad’s suspicions were correct, I just finished processing almost all the tins of the 2024 birding season (over a terabyte). Just have a quick trip to Colorado to get through from last September and then I’ll be current to this year!!

Take it away Brad…

At Wildlife Intrigued, most of the photography team (OK, Brian and I) have a backlog of photos as you might expect.  Brian’s backlog is an order of magnitude greater than my backlog, though I suspect with his upcoming ankle “upgrade” he’s going to have lots of time to sort through photos.  Writing a story isn’t necessarily a linear event.  Oh sure, I could go back to the oldest photos and start from there.  However, sometimes a story just sings to me and keeps working its way through my brain until my fingers hit the keyboard.  Voila!  A story is born.  Stories are usually not published, or written, in sequential order either, meaning that back-to-back stories published on Wildlife Intrigued come from different assignments on different years.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

As Jan and I neared the exit of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Preserve (RMANWP) Wildlife Drive we began to notice the large bison fences.  In reality, I’m not sure these wire fences would stop a determined bison from going where it darn well wanted to go.  Growing up, there was a farm near us that had exotic animals on it, including a camel (one hump), an ostrich, and a very small herd of bison.  Did you know that bison are extremely agile despite their large size?  One evening, at my parent’s dining room window we heard a loud snort.  Glancing up, there was a large bison looking straight into the first story window.  The large furry face stared at us for a few seconds before something off to the side caught its attention.  The bison was off like a shot because two people on horseback were chasing after it.  We were later told the chase lasted several minutes until the bison decided it was tired and hungry.  Once the bison neared the 5-foot-tall fence marking its home, it simply leaped over the fence, in stride, back to its normal corral and began quietly munching on a big bowl of bison chow.  Problem sorted.  That’s when I learned how agile and strong these animals are.  Important safety tip from the National Park Service:  Don’t pet the fluffy cows.

Back to the previously scheduled story.

Today’s feathered friend is not new to Intrigued.  You may have seen today’s featured guest before here.  The prior story is from nearly the same location, just a few miles closer to the mountains of Colorado than I am today.

Sitting on the top wire of the bison fence was this guy, or girl, I’m not really sure.  Unless a pair is sitting side by side, the subtle color differences are not as obvious.  Males can have slightly brighter, or more vibrant, yellow coloring, some might say “lemon” colored.  The black “necklace” may also be darker or more sharply defined.  Not seeing another one nearby for comparison, I’m sticking with my original assessment. 

Hit the jump to read more about this winged lemon with a dagger of a bill.

The Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) must be one of the happiest birds we’ve ever run across.  Without exception, every individual we’ve seen has been singing, or taking a breath between stanzas.  Their song is one of those that can stop you in your tracks and make you want to drop everything and listen.  Well, not quite everything; please hold onto your cameras and small children and maintain control of your vehicles if you are driving.

Jan and I found this one at RMANWP located a few miles from downtown Denver.  When you visit, during the 11-mile Wildlife Drive experience (remember to keeps your hands and arms, and the rest of you, inside the car at all times) watch for the city of Denver to appear in the background.  Pause for a moment to realize the juxtaposition of such a modern city and a completely restored wildlife habitat on the prairie.  Well, at least 98% restored, there are a minimum of roads through the preserve (imagine having to ride in a Conestoga wagon instead).  In reality, no one should be driving fast enough to miss this view.  Except for the out-of-town visitors that were screaming past me in the continuous 20MPH zone.  I was only going 15MPH, big deal!

Here is a very abbreviated Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) vs. Western Meadowlark field guide.  The differences are tiny.  If you are gifted enough to recognize the differences in their songs, congratulations!  I certainly can’t…yet.  Some sites say the difference in song styles comes in the delivery.  The Eastern has more clear and sharper whistles, while the Western has richer “gurgles”.  Having heard both, I think they are equally pleasant to the ear, though to me the Western is slightly more melodious and smoother.  Some sources say the song of the other named Meadowlark is as foreign to them as one from another species.  Jan and I have not tested this because we have only ever seen one species at a time.  Discuss amongst yourselves.

A key visual differentiator between the Eastern and Western Meadowlarks, besides their song, is a small stripe of yellow, or white. The yellow on Western Meadowlark’s throat continues into the malar region near the lower mandible. The Western Meadowlark also has limited white feathers on the tail edges. Eastern Meadowlarks have a pale malar in contrast to the yellow throat and have wider bands of white on the tail.  Location can be a major identifier, if you aren’t between Illinois and western Kansas where their territories overlap. 

Meriwether Lewis was one of the first to document the differences between the Western and Eastern (called Oldfield Lark in the East back then) Meadowlarks.  The Western Meadowlark is the state bird for six U. S. states, second only to the Northern Cardinal in seven states.

The Meadowlark has a technique called “gaping” where they stick their bill in the ground or tree bark then force their bill open to create a small hole.  The newly created hole gives them access to the insects or other food items most birds can’t reach.  Other members of the blackbird family can opt to use the same technique.

A pair of Western Meadowlarks will create a nest directly on the ground in a grassy area or pasture.  Males will identify and defend a nesting territory before the female arrives.  Successful males will sometimes mate with two females, bringing food to both nests.  The females shape and create the nests on their own.  Once lined with soft grass, some females create a “roof” of tall grasses over the nest to help protect the nest from rain and sun.  She will raise a brood of 5-6 eggs with the possibility of a later second brood during the same breeding season.  Eggs hatch in about two weeks, with nearly another two weeks of nesting.

The Western Meadowlark is of Low Conservation concern, even though their populations have been declining very slightly over the last 50 years due to invasive plant species, pesticides and converting grass lands to housing developments.  Individuals can live about 6 years in the wild.

This one must be wondering, “Now where did I put that small bucket filled with confetti?”

Meadowlark Lemon, get it?

Thank you for reading.  If you want to see more Western Meadowlark photos, please visit here.

Credits:

Thanks again to Jan for proofreading and editing.  Thanks to Jan for many of the photos in this article.