For the past several
weeks, I have been constantly serenaded on my walks by the magnificent and numerous
Eastern Meadowlarks. As I head away from the house and downhill into the pasture, the
meadowlarks’ songs become more distinct.
I consider these
brightly yellow-colored birds to be a bit elusive...as least to sight.
As I walk, I can hear
the meadowlarks all around me. But,
seeing them is quite a different story. They definitely keep a wide safe zone.
Even though, these birds are a brilliant yellow and fairly good-sized, the long
distance makes identification difficult.
And, most of their time is spent rambling on the ground frequently under
cover of grass. This is an additional disadvantage
to me, not the birds.
I stop and listen and
can pinpoint their location, but visuals are iffy.
Yesterday, I considered
my meadowlark experience to be about 5 out of a possible 10. I could easily hear the meadowlarks, but I
could only see them afar. Having three dogs run ahead of me does not help in
the birdwatching department either.
That was until I made
my return trip back home. Partially hidden behind a board fence, I was able to
view a few meadowlarks at a much closer distance than my norm. At one point, I watched four meadowlarks
flying together overhead. As I stopped
and became motionless, so did the dogs.
The meadowlarks moved even closer to me.
Even though I mostly
see meadowlark silhouettes lurking about the pasture, yesterday I was lucky
enough to observe a solitary meadowlark singing from atop a nearby fencepost
and also one just above me in a tree branch - my closest encounters yet.
My 5 rating turned
into an amazing 10.
All I needed was a
bit of patience and some quiet dogs.
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