Interesting oriole behavior

[Russell Benedict]

Iowa bird lovers, 

      Sitting on my porch this morning, I saw a female Baltimore Oriole fly across my yard carrying something large and dark in her bill. She dropped it on my sidewalk, reminding me of when birds drop fecal sacs from their young. I investigated and found that she had dropped a dead oriole nestling. I have always wondered what happens to young that die in the nest. Has anyone else seen similar behaviors?  Russ between Pella and Knoxville.

Russ Benedict

Professor of Biology

Director of Prairies For Agriculture Project

Department of Biology, Central College

812 University Street | Campus Box 09 | Pella, Iowa 50219

Office:  641-628-5173

[Russell Benedict]

Good morning, 

      I have not seen or heard a single Bobolink this year.  Probably just a wrong place - wrong time thing.  Have other people been seeing good numbers this spring?  Russ between Pella and Knoxville.

Russ Benedict

Professor of Biology

Director of Prairies For Agriculture Project

Department of Biology, Central College

812 University Street | Campus Box 09 | Pella, Iowa 50219

Office:  641-628-5173

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Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2025 10:06 AM
To: ia-...@googlegroups.com <ia-...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [ia-bird] Interesting oriole behavior

 

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[Chad Gatlin]

I saw one and few miles south of Centerville on Friday and a pair just across the Missouri line this morning.

They are a rare sight anymore. 

Chad

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[Steve Harvey]

Although normally rare here, their reduced number this year is notable.  I did see a pair yesterday on a fence along CRP ground
in south central Clarke county.

Steve
 

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[Clayton Will]

1. 
   
2. 
   

3. Here are my entries for this year. Spread out over  a large area of the state from Keosaqua to Estherville. Not the large number of 400 I had near Storm Lake last year. They get very secretive during nesting as do many birds. I discussed the lack of Warblers in central Iowa the other day and it's my thought many birds were killed by large hail in Missouri and Arkansas after seeing a map of the damage. There was more red on those maps than not. Just a theory.

1. 
   Bobolink

   14 Jun 2025

   #2

   1232 300th Street, Woodward, Iowa, US (41.921, -93.925) | US-IA
2. Bobolink

   29 May 2025

   #1

   Rounded Bridge | US-IA
3. Bobolink

   25 May 2025

   #1

   Fort Defiance SP | US-IA
4. Bobolink

   24 May 2025

   #1

   Kettleson Hogsback WMA | US-IA
5. Bobolink

   20 May 2025

   #1

   Big Creek WMA--100th St. | US-IA
6. Bobolink

   16 May 2025

   #2

   17324 235th Street, Keosauqua, Iowa, US (40.704, -92.038) | US-IA
7. Clayton Will
8. Madrid

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[Doug & Nina Harr]

I have been seeing Bobolinks in several places in Boone County.  They include Harrier Marsh WMA (just not as many as usual) near where I live at Ogden, at Bjorkboda Marsh and McHugh Marsh grasslands up on the Boone/Hamilton County nines, and actually several on a roughly 250-acre lightly grazed/rotational pasture area about 3 mi. south of the tiny town of Beaver.  Bobolinks numbers certainly are known to be in serious decline, but at least we still seem to find quite a few up here.

Doug Harr

Ogden, IA 

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[mpruitt.jefferson58]

I live in NE Iowa and there were at least 3 pair of Bobolinks singing and chasing off Red-winged Blackbirds in the SW corner of Hayden Prairie.

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

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[gg41grand]

Bobolinks have been seen in both Van Buren and Jefferson Counties frequently this year.

They will become even more if a rarity if we continue to eliminate grasslands, their preferred habitat.

Julie Johnston, Packwood

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

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[Merle and Marsha Hall]

We just checked the field south of Granger where we usually see them and saw several Bobolinks.  So they are back there at least.

Also, saw Cedar Waxwings, Baltimore Orioles and Goldfinches at the Beaver Creek bridge between Granger and that field.

Merle

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[Michael May]

Sightings seem to go like that for me, too - no visuals/audibles for 2 or more years, then a sighting.

I have never seen so many bob-o-links in my life as I have this year!! - both visual and audible 'sightings,' mostly in NW IA.

- 1 male, pasture 1 mile east of the intersection of IA 140 & C-38 (north side of the road) - have seen them there occasionally over the last 11 years. Plymouth Co.

- 2 males, pasture (possible CRP) at the intersection of 320th St & Quorn Road - this is west of Kingsley, just north of the west branch Little Sioux River bridge. 

- audibles @ the big marshy pasture, northeast corner of C-38 and Otter Avenue (SE of Le Mars) last Sunday.

- audible @Grimes Farm, Marshall County today.

- And on May 11, I trolled my favorite piece of gravel-travel:  Ridge Rd southeast of C-38 (just east of Westfield IA). Omagosh, at least 9 male bob-o-links - I had trouble keeping track of them as they flew all around!! Never have I ever come across so many!

~ Kristy, SE Plymouth Co. 

On Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 10:11 AM Russell Benedict <Bene...@central.edu> wrote:

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[Bruce Morrison]

We have nesting Bobolinks adjacent to our two small pastures this year…was having a couple different males flying and calling yesterday afternoon, just before a heavy rain.  I’ve only seen two males at the same time - each in different pastures.

We had three pairs last year here that were drowned out by our late June flood…the pastures were under about 6 feet of water and flowing.

SE O’Brien County - Grant township

[Ryan Shackleton]

 

I saw one east of Colwell this season, that's it so far. They definitely seem to be down

 

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From: Russell <Bene...@central.edu>
To: ia-bird <ia-...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, 17 June 2025 10:11 AM CDT
Subject: [ia-bird] Bobolink question

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