Looked for Bobolinks, Found Henslow’s Sparrow
Over the week I have been seeing photos on Facebook of Bobolinks, and eBird showed recent reports at nearby hotspots. So this morning I headed out to Talon Winery with the Bobolink as my target bird. I parked at the tasting room and started walking the perimeter of the fields. I didn’t see a single Bobolink. Instead, I saw and heard about a dozen Red-winged Blackbirds and about a half-dozen Eastern Meadowlarks. A few starlings and American Robins filled in the rest. But no Bobolinks, and all the birds were keeping their distance.
After about 40 minutes I decided to move on. I walked back to my car where I saw something shiny on the back of my rear driver’s side tire. It was a screw head. Well, crap! The tire was holding air, so with my birding day apparently over, I drove back to Lexington to a tire shop. About 45 minutes later they told me that it was a small screw that didn’t puncture the tire. They didn’t charge me anything. Thank you S&S Tire!
Since it was only 09:30, I decided birding was back on! The other birding hotspot for Bobolinks was a new place for me - Camp Nelson National Monument, about 30 minutes south of Lexington. This camp was a Civil War recruitment and training site for African American soldiers (United States Colored Troops). While the site has a few buildings which tell the history of the camp, it is mostly wide open fields with easy to walk and well-maintained trails.
To my disappointment I didn’t see nor hear Bobolinks, but I did find Henslow’s Sparrows (a lifer for me). This small sparrow was really hard to see, keeping to the ground hiding in the grass most of the time. But I got lucky though. One bird hopped up on a blade of grass and begun singing its little heart out. Other than the strong winds blowing it all over the place, it was perfect. I took a gazillion shots, but here are a few of my favorites.
Henslow’s Sparrow. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1,3200 sec, ISO 640. Note the high shutter speed - that’s because it was really windy and this bird and blade of grass were bobbing all over the place.
Henslow’s Sparrow. This is at the peak of the song, with neck and feathers fully extended. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1,3200 sec, ISO 560.
Henslow’s Sparrow. The blade of grass in the background kept cutting across the bird’s body. This is one of the few shots where it stayed above the bird while it was singing. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1,3200 sec, ISO 560.
I left the Henslow and continued down the trail. To my surprise, another Henslow’s Sparrow flew down on the grassy trail about 20 feet in front of me and hopped along keeping its distance while looking for insects. I decided to get down on the ground, laying on my belly to get at eye level. The bird didn’t mind and kept up the search, going from one side of the trail to the other.
Henslow’s Sparrow. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1,2000 sec, ISO 560.
In addition to the Henslow’s, Eastern Meadowlarks were in good numbers. A bit shy, they flew off anytime I got within 50 years of them, but I did manage to get a few shots. In the first shot, this bird flew away from me and landed on a plant out in the field where it proceeded to sound an alert call, repeatedly. In the second shot, a different Meadowlark was perched on a fence - a favorite perch for Meadowlarks. It also started to alert when it saw me and took off when I got within 50 yards.
Eastern Meadowlark. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1,2000 sec, ISO 720.
Eastern Meadowlark. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1,2500 sec, ISO 560.
I was really happy with the birding at Camp Nelson and will probably go back tomorrow. The only down side is that it doesn’t open until 09:00, so I might do a repeat of today - start at Talon then continue on to Camp Nelson.
It’s the end of June, it’s hot, and the birding is still good!
Happy birding!
