Last night a friend who also hikes around Palmer Lake Park contacted me to let me know that she'd again spotted a very unusual bird for the park –an Eastern Meadowlark! I have only ever laid eyes on a Meadowlark just once when I was a kid out exploring the fields surrounding St. Cloud, MN on my BMX dirt bike. That was long, long before I was a birder but even back then I knew it was something I hadn't seen before. When I became a serious bird watcher in my late 30's I realized that this species has continued to become even more rare since then –at least to see anywhere near a metro area. Meadowlarks are "
grassland birds" preferring wide open expanses of untouched grassland as their habitat. Like other grassland birds they nest on the ground, often concealed by the tall grass.
Due to loss of proper habitat, Meadowlarks along with other species such as the Bobolink and Dickcissel are in steep decline. It is easy to understand why if you can remember back to when you were a kid and think about all the fields surrounding your hometown that are now fully developed into residential or commercial areas. It is a prime example of how our ever expanding population explosion is affecting our natural world. You may have asked yourself already, why would a grassland bird be found in the area of Palmer Lake? Well that's the same question I've pondered over since my friend first spotted one at the park last year! This making two years in a row one has been seen in the very same baseball field on the northwest side of the park, makes us wonder if in fact it is the same bird year to year. Also the time of year is near migration so it is very possible this bird makes a dedicated stop at Palmer to feed for a few days before moving further north or west to more suitable habitat.
Whatever the case, it is quite a unique find for the area so when my friend notified me last night, I said "I'll be there in the morning!" We both arrived at 9:00am, parked in the lot nearest this baseball field, walked a hundred feet and there he was! Here in Minnesota we can get both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks and both birds look nearly identical save for one small stripe of color near the base of the bill. From a distance they look so similar that the best way to tell them apart is by song –which differs between the two species. This particular bird wasn't exactly cooperative in regards to a photograph however and I quickly found that it had a tendency to continually turn it's back towards us. This is likely a survival mechanism to conceal it's brightly colored yellow breast with distinct black "necklace" pattern, and instead show us his back side, mottled brown and white in order to blend in more easily.
The bird stayed out in the open grasses of the baseball field, and it was VERY aware of our presence, continually flying off a hundred feet in the opposite direction every time we approached it. This was kind of a bummer as I was hoping to get better photos, but all in all I was more excited just to finally see and observe one –especially in the very park where I do the majority of my bird watching! After watching the bird for well over 90 minutes, we finally caught a few glimpses from the front and saw it's bright yellow and black pattern. This was the only bird I came to the park to see today but it was well worth it!
Due to loss of proper habitat, Meadowlarks along with other species such as the Bobolink and Dickcissel are in steep decline. It is easy to understand why if you can remember back to when you were a kid and think about all the fields surrounding your hometown that are now fully developed into residential or commercial areas. It is a prime example of how our ever expanding population explosion is affecting our natural world. You may have asked yourself already, why would a grassland bird be found in the area of Palmer Lake? Well that's the same question I've pondered over since my friend first spotted one at the park last year! This making two years in a row one has been seen in the very same baseball field on the northwest side of the park, makes us wonder if in fact it is the same bird year to year. Also the time of year is near migration so it is very possible this bird makes a dedicated stop at Palmer to feed for a few days before moving further north or west to more suitable habitat. 
Whatever the case, it is quite a unique find for the area so when my friend notified me last night, I said "I'll be there in the morning!" We both arrived at 9:00am, parked in the lot nearest this baseball field, walked a hundred feet and there he was! Here in Minnesota we can get both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks and both birds look nearly identical save for one small stripe of color near the base of the bill. From a distance they look so similar that the best way to tell them apart is by song –which differs between the two species. This particular bird wasn't exactly cooperative in regards to a photograph however and I quickly found that it had a tendency to continually turn it's back towards us. This is likely a survival mechanism to conceal it's brightly colored yellow breast with distinct black "necklace" pattern, and instead show us his back side, mottled brown and white in order to blend in more easily. 
The bird stayed out in the open grasses of the baseball field, and it was VERY aware of our presence, continually flying off a hundred feet in the opposite direction every time we approached it. This was kind of a bummer as I was hoping to get better photos, but all in all I was more excited just to finally see and observe one –especially in the very park where I do the majority of my bird watching! After watching the bird for well over 90 minutes, we finally caught a few glimpses from the front and saw it's bright yellow and black pattern. This was the only bird I came to the park to see today but it was well worth it!
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