[cobirds] Boulder Eastern Meadowlark et al. (the plot thickens...)

Hey folks- meant to send yesterday but somehow didn't get this onto the interwebs. sorry for the day-late post!

Anyway, I set out to get in a walk and birding yesterday morning before the heat set in, heading over to the E. Boulder Trail from the Teller Lakes Trailhead off Valmont Rd.  Once there I fell in with Wolf Repass to double our detection capabilities.  

The place felt more like some prairie reserve in the Midwest than a Front Range locality- Dickcissels were constantly audible anywhere in the extensive unmown hay fields along with smatterings of Bobolinks and a furtive Orchard Oriole along the ditch.

The long-staying Eastern Meadowlark (eBird records going back to 11 June) was near the "two tan barns" mentioned by Christine Alexander in her eBird list from 28 June.  This is along the section of trail running N-S, not along the ditch and waterfall area where many other sightings have been.  The bird was foraging in the newly-mown field just west of the two barns, which is the first private property encountered east of the trail once it turns south after leaving the ditch section (or the last private property along this stretch if you start from the Arapahoe Rd. trailhead.)

So, to add to the excellent & extensive recent discussions of this bird:

1) I also heard a singing Eastern Meadowlark, but that detection was a fair way west of the trail by the two tan barns, near the small prairie dog town in that direction.  It only sang a few times and I didn't record it, but it was distinctive as others have mentioned and I'm confident in that ID.

2) The bird we saw well in the mowed field west of the tan barns was calling- we never had it sing while it was in view.  Hugh Kingery noted the diagnostic value of meadowlark calls and this bird had a nice buzzy Eastern call.  I was able to record this (and a nearby calling Western for contrast.) 

3) The bird we saw was carrying food!  Very interesting for the possibilities of nesting there and even better, with who?

4) So crazy thinking now- maybe the bird we saw was a female and the singing bird I heard about 100 yards west was a paired male??  Not asserting that this is the case but not ruling it out either.  I didn't hear the two vocalizations at the same time so another possibility is that the bird sang farther away and then flew in (though we didn't see this) to forage while calling.  

Anyway, the call notes & photos of the bird carrying food can be heard/seen here:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S70955701

Oh, and nice for Boulder County was a Burrowing Owl perching on the power lines between HWY 52 & Lookout Road along 95th.  I saw one driving down and again driving home along the same stretch of wire- there's a small prairie dog town in the field to the West there.  If stopping to search or view be careful along this busy road.  I didn't stop to check for more out in the town, but it was a treat to see the Howdy Owl surveying its domain.

Enjoy- Bill Schmoker, Longmont

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Bill Schmoker             
bill.schmoker@gmail.com 
http://schmoker.org
http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/us-arctic-geotraces 
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