Good morning, I stopped in to look for the Western Meadowlark before work today. It was present and singing consistently while I was there (5:15 to 5:50 am). He was on both sides of the road, including right under the sign that Hudson's have out for their produce stand. For anyone wondering if this is a pure bird or a hybrid, it is as pure as WEME come. Plumage characteristics are all in line with pure Western, the song is consistent and not variable, the rattle is dry and the alarm/contact call is a low chuck (I have never heard the latter given by either Easterns or hybrids). The bird appears to be unpaired so it may not stick around for too long.
This is a great area for field birds. There was a Vesper Sparrow singing in the distance and Upland Sandpipers are in the fields not far to the west along Upper Dwyer Hill Road. Directions: From Ottawa take Hwy. 417 west to Panmure Road exit (about 18 km west of Stittsville). Take Panmure Rd. south to Upper Dwyer Hill Rd. (2 km). Jeff -- Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada E-mail: [email protected] _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
