Bobolink and Dickcissel update

It's a banner year for both Bobolink and Dickcissel on Colorado's front range. I read today that there were 6 singing Dickcissel plus 2 singing Bobolink seen at a site in Boulder County today. Now, in addition to the Bobolink and Dickcissel that I have been monitoring on a farm in the Canon City area, this afternoon I found a new location with 1 singing Bobolink and another location with 1 singing Dickcissel.

However farmers have begun cutting hay in this area. In fact, one of the fields in which I have seen Bobolink and Dickcissel was cut on Saturday, then baled yesterday with bales hauled off by today. I don't know if this field held any nests as both Bobolink and Dickcissel go down in various locations so it is difficult to know which might contain a nest site. Bobolink have only been at this location for 2 weeks and it takes more than 3 weeks for selection and building of nests, nesting and time to fledge . And the Dickcissel arrived a few days later. So if the field in which their nests are located is cut, this would undoubtedly result in a nest failure.

I was able to get some pics of the Dickcissels that shows the chestnut colored shoulder of this species. But it is late and I will need to enlarge the photos so will post tomorrow.

This happens each year and I bite my fingernails hoping that the nests are in the last fields cut. Unfortunately most farmers in this area do a first cutting in late May to mid-June in order to get at least 2 and usually 3 cuttings from their fields as this not only increases the productivity of their hay fields but increases their profits, which is understandable. Sadly at least some nests will be destroyed or abandoned after the fields are cut.

SeEtta