Every year since I bought my farm, I’ve watched the eastern meadowlark population increase. I have made some changes to make it better for the grassland songbirds to be able to raise families and increase their populations because we’ve seen a drastic decline in recent years. This spring, I never saw a single eastern meadowlark. I finally saw one, but no families out in pasture.
eastern meadowlark from 2020
I did some research and found out that unlike my bobolinks which winter in Central America, the meadowlarks hunker down and overwinter in the grasses here. We had a horrible, horrible, arctic February that I think decimated the population. It breaks my heart. But Sunday when I was in pasture, I saw meadowlarks. The pictures are horrible, but I am thrilled with them.
At least one clutch hatched and managed to survive. Hopefully, we have a better winter and the population can rebuild.
Teresa
Eden Hills 