Eastern Meadowlark seen near Merrill Lake Sanctuary

Seen in the mowed grasslands (along with 7 others) adjacent to the Merrill Lake Sanctuary on the afternoon of January 16, 2022. It was hard to miss the male’s bright yellow breast with black V across its chest.

This stunning bird forages by walking on the ground, taking insects and seeds. Seeds and waste grain make up most of its diet in winter. The  Eastern Meadowlark is not part of the lark family but the blackbird family. The male can sing several variations of its song in spring. In NY, using spectrograms, the bird sang more than 100 patterns of its song-amazing! Although once a common bird, it is in steep decline secondary to loss of grassland habitat and use of pesticides.