While people always think Great Gray Owls in the winter, and warblers in the summer at Sax-Zim Bog, I think grassland birds! Just south of the Boreal Forest (i.e. a couple of hundred yards), there are some excellent meadows and pastures which grassland birds love. A favorite birding summer drive of mine takes the route shown below …
This route yields (see birding map)
- American Goldfinches
- Black-Billed Magpies
- Bob-o-links
- Dickcissels (irruption years like 2021)
- Eastern Kingbirds
- Hawks (hunting for their young)
- Killdeer
- Meadowlarks
- Sparrows (lots of them)
- and more …
This past week I went in search of Dickcissels. While this bird may be seen at many grasslands this summer, an irruption year, the Bog truly yields numbers.
Dickcissels
Dickcissel Singing Out (video link for email subscribers)
Unexpectedly I also found a family of five Killdeer. While killdeer are not rare, the chicks were born late and could not be more than a day or two old.
Luv this post! Killdeer chicks are so cute. I spent last summer searching for a Dickcissel in the TC suburbs and never found one. Love the pictures.
wow- i can almost hear the birds singing!!!!!!!