A Little Bird's Cross-Continental Tour
A Little Bird's Cross-Continental Tour
Written by Enzo Ferland, Communications Intern
After a long off-and-on winter, spring is finally here. You’ve had a lovely vacation in Argentina, and as you’re returning to New Brunswick you look toward the clouds. They start to part, and you softly fly down to a beautiful meadow. You’re home, and it has been a long trip.
All around New Brunswick this scene is playing out right now, but it’s not tourists who are landing in the meadows, it’s the songbirds known as bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). These little birds are returning to their homes in the meadows and fields of the northern United States and southern Canada this month ( May). But this is just the end of their journey—where have they been these past few months?
While they may not be tourists, the bobolinks’ voyage was nonetheless just as long, if not longer, than many human ones. During their migration, they fly a 20,000-kilometre round-trip. This gives the bobolink one of the longest migrations of any songbird. So long, in fact, that in only two years a bobolink will have travelled the equivalent of the entire circumference of the globe!
This migration begins in the fall. The bobolinks begin to group up in flocks that will stick together as they voyage across North and South America. They leave early, heading toward a destination that is familiar to many tourists: Florida. While there, they molt their feathers in the marshes. But this is just the first stop of their trip.
Once ready, they fly across the Caribbean, stopping on islands like Cuba to rest before crossing the rest of the sea to the northern coast of South America.
Once in South America, they continue flying further until they reach the northern tip of Argentina. This is their final destination for the winter, but the journey itself is not quite finished yet.
Return Home
As winter starts to end, they return the way they came, crossing the Caribbean once again and heading toward their breeding grounds in Canada and the United States. Here in Canada these breeding grounds were historically found in the prairies, but as forests were cleared, they began to spread out to the rest of southern Canada—including a population right here in New Brunswick!
They arrive home in May, and from then until July they dance and sing to breed and build their nests. These nests are built on the ground, hidden in fields among dense grasses and weeds to keep them safe from predators.
But this can make them difficult to find for us, too. Hay fields are among the fields in which bobolinks like to nest. While these hay field nests may be hidden from predators, it makes the bobolink very vulnerable to haying activities on farmland. As such, we recommend you search for bobolinks in your fields before haying and try to avoid haying near their nests until the end if possible.
Want to catch a glimpse of this well-travelled bird, distinct among songbirds for the colourful yellow cap on the backside of its head? To find them, head to an overgrown field and look to the sky, listening for the male’s bubbly song and further distinctive white and yellow patches on their back. Females, meanwhile, have a streaked buff or yellow appearance.
If you don’t have easy access to a field near you, bobolinks can also be found at some of our nature preserves. The Mals'nawihkok Nature Preserve near Maugerville and the Bartlett Mills Nature Preserve near Bocabec are two such preserves where they've been spotted in recent years.
Beyond the threats from agricultural practices, bobolinks are also threatened by the loss of their habitats. The grasslands which they seek out are gradually becoming rarer on account of urban development and forest growth on abandoned farmland. Because of this loss of habitat, the bobolinks are currently classified as a species of special concern in Canada. If you hold such a property, our Conservation Team would love to connect with you to offer guidance and recommendations on how to maintain good habitat for the bobolinks, such as bush-hogging abandoned fields so these little birds can stay safe in the meadows.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the bobolink or other bird stories and sightings!
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