This is the normal window for spring migration of Say's Phoebe . Unusually
cold weather has focused them on the lowest, warmest areas. Even where the
snow has melted, the ground is freezing. Insect activity is greatly
restricted at the moment. The presence of Meadowlarks is a tribute to the
quality of the Oaks Bottoms prairie, a practical caution against
enthusiastic tree planting. There were singing Savannah Sparrows there last
spring. The widespread snowfall is hard to imagine when the landscape you
are enjoying has none. A lot of fields migrating Meadowlarks typically rely
on are inevitably unusable right now. Bluebirds are a groundfeeder too, so
their spike in metro sightings is directly linked to all the snow.
I would like to think both Meadowlarks and Say's Phoebe are annual at
Oaks Bottom. Maybe it's enjoying a mild case of the Patagonia effect. I
regret to say l have made no contribution to that observer effort.
Everytime l roll the window down it feels like the depths of February.lpn
On Sun, Mar 10, 2019, 9:41 PM Timothy Steeves <timothydsteeves@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
My friend and I also saw the Say's Phoebe and, at least 4 western
meadowlarks in the grassy field at the South end of the trail near Oaks
Park today around 2:30 pm. We were hoping to see the Western bluebirds that
have been seen recently too, but no luck.
I have never seen a Say's phoebe or Westen meadowlarks at Oaks Bottom.
Does anyone have an opinion about why they are suddenly showing up?
Timothy Steeves
On Mar 10, 2019 7:41 PM, "Lona Pierce" <alkpierce@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Violet-green swallows zooming all over the water, and I spotted an Anna's
hummingbird with its nest in a cedar! For such a nice day the unpaved trail
loop section had very few people this afternoon. Red-flowering currant was
close to blooming, too.
