Hello all,
The Meadowlark was present throughout the day at the feeders at 19901
Fallowfield Road, Williamstown, though I only saw it very late in the
afternoon and not well enough to study it.
Thanks to the Ontbirder who corrected my misuse yesterday of the term
alternate plumage, not applicable to Meadowlarks, and gave me some tips on
differentiating Eastern and Western Meadowlarks. The bird is in what
Sibley in the eastern field guide describes as breeding plumage
(Feb-Aug). It now seems possible that the bird is a Western Meadowlark as
my impression yesterday was that it had a lot of yellow on the face. If it
turns up tomorrow, I'll go back for another look. In terms of behaviour,
the bird is not at all skittish and undisturbed as cars go by only a few
metres from where it sits under the feeder, which may suggest Western as
well.
On another more banal note, I have 22 Brown-headed Cowbirds coming to my
feeders.
Fallowfield Road runs west from County Road 34 about 10 minutes north of
the Lancaster exit off the 401.
Martin Bowman
Williamstown, ON
