Bobolink

The one and only time I have seen a bobolink (at the time of writing) was on the Bobolink Trail at Harrington State Park in Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The trail went back, away from the lake, back up a hill through a grassy meadow that overlooked some pastures and fields that eventually stretched out to the sort of postcard-perfect farmland pastorals that Wisconsin has in spade in the summer time.

There were plenty of red-winged blackbirds wheeling about over the fields, but for the first mile or so I did not see any sign of the eponymous birds. And then I caught a flash of black and white whipping by the corner of my eye as I was watching the blackbirds. Then came the curious the bubbling, tinkling sound that, to someone anyway, sounds like the bird is saying “bobolink”. It sounded like nothing of the sort to me, but then most bird names make no sense anymore (however much sense they might have made when they were bestowed).

I moved up the trail a bit and discovered a pair of bobolinks fluttering about in the tall grass restoration area, favoring, it seemed anyway, the taller, thicker stalks of plant that were capable of holding their weight without teetering in the breeze. I couldn’t tell what they were eating, but they were busy hunting something in the grass below, insects I assume. There were only the two, which, according to Sibley, means they were probably nesting, otherwise they would likely have been in a flock.

The male is unmistakable, the yellow on the back of its head is so unusual it’s almost disconcerting. It looks almost like it’s missing half its head and you’re staring at its brain. It’s a strange color pattern anyway. I’m not aware of any other bird with a two-tone head divided in the same place, regardless of color.

I was birding with family in this case, so after staring long enough to be sure of what I had seen, one of the kids dragged me along, leaving the bobolinks and their strange yellow heads behind. Despite crossing many a pastoral, prairie grass field in our travels through Wisconsin and Michigan, I have never seen another bobolink.