Something made an appearance last week at the Goethite
W.M.A. that totally made my day. It was a pair of Meadowlarks. What kind were
they? Well, I'm not sure. Mr. Science (Gary my birding mentor) tells me that the
Eastern Meadowlark needs singing lessons and the Western sings more sweetly. I
will go with that though I had no comparison to hear any difference....
I've thought, more than once in recent years,
how long it had been since I heard that lilting song. Decades I think. And last
week I heard it again. How sweet it is...
As a child growing up on the East Side of St. Paul, the song
of meadowlarks often brightened my day. They lived in a field just across the
road from my parents’ home on Johnson Parkway.(Pictured left below) I often awoke to their beautiful
song drifting thru my bedroom window. Today that field is long gone and a
nursing home has taken its place, along with miles and miles of suburbs and
malls stretching 20 miles to the east, all the way to Wisconsin.
We have western meadowlarks here, and their song is very sweet. I love hearing it. There's nothing like music or birdsong to bring back a memory.
ReplyDeleteHooray for your sighting. That must have been nice to hear that after all those years.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a long time for me too for hearing of the meadowlark. When I was a young kid I could go back behind our farm sheds and look down the ditches that headed toward the pond. The orchard grass was so tall and the meadowlarks would land on weed branches and sing and sing. You brought back a great memory from southern Iowa.
ReplyDeleteWell, hello old friend! So nice to see your comment on my blog today! I've often wondered about how you have been doing. A group of us who migrated to Facebook have decided we miss blogging and have formed a group, the Comeback Bloggers, and have agreed to post at least weekly. We send out a prompt to help make it easier than staring at a blinking cursor. Nice to see people like you who have continued blogging along! P.S. LOVE hearing the beautiful song of the Meadowlarks.
ReplyDeleteThey have a beautiful song, we have a pair about a mile away but their tree is now gone thanks to the Power Co :(
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! Isn't that wonderful to hear it again? I love the red-winged blackbird song. It makes me smile to hear it.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be so lucky to hear a meadowlark. Like you, they were common when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteMemories from childhood brought back to life! How lucky for you!
ReplyDeleteI envy you. As far as I know I have never heard Meadowlarks sing. How lovely for you to hear them again.
ReplyDeleteThey are hard to get close to, I see them on power lines the most. I worked for over a month to get a good shot on a tree.I too listened to them as a child, and their song stops me in my tracks, giving me back good memories.I sat and watched the sun set to a meadowlarks song just last week.
ReplyDeleteOdd the random things that stir our memories. Now you have intrigued me and I am going to Google the Meadowlark's song.
ReplyDeleteHow nice for you!
ReplyDeleteI don't know either bird, but I am pleased for you that you heard the song again.
ReplyDeleteA sweet song indeed and nice photo! There's a good book, The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather, which I read ages ago.
ReplyDeleteGreat post TB!
ReplyDeleteI live in an apartment complex where all the men drive monster pickups and your posts give me courage to go out and fill my bird feeder.
But East St Paul! Damn. Puts me in mind of one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MlwTvNESLs
Thanks.
Ah, they are so sweet!
ReplyDelete