This past week after enjoying a delicious lunch of clam chowder and fried clams at Woodman’s, Charlotte, my friend Claudia, and I stopped by Greenbelt’s Cox Reservation en route home. Claudia moved to CapeAnn a year ago and had never been. She was delighted to know about Cox Reservation for future beauty walks through meadow and marsh and of course Charlotte had a fantastic time as she always does when running about in nature. While there, we spied a Monarch depositing eggs on Common Milkweed shoots emerging in the grassland meadow.

I returned the following day to see if the female Monarch was still afield and to try also to capture an audio recording of the music where ‘seaside marsh meets grassland meadow.’

I found so much more. A photo tour for your Memorial Day weekend –

Bobolink Male Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 9 of 36

Bobolink Male Chokecherry Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 15 of 36

Bobolink Male Chokecherry Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 16 of 36

Bobolinks in the Chokecherry Tree (Prunus virginiana)

There are several fields at Cox Reservation that are maintained grassland habitat to help nesting birds such as Bobolinks; a beautiful songbird in steep decline.

We’re accustomed to hearing and seeing male Red-winged Blackbirds; it’s not often we see the females as they are usually on the nest. This pretty female flew into a tree, waved her wings, and stuck out her very showy cloaca. I wasn’t sure what she was up to and when a male came from nowhere and suddenly jumped on her back to mate, I was startled and unfortunately jerked the camera, but you get the idea.

Red-winged Blackbird female Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 1 of 36

Red-winged Blackbird female Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 2 of 36

Red-winged Blackbirds mating Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 3 of 36

Red-winged Blackbird female cloacaCox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 4 of 36

Female Red-winged Blackbird

Eastern Bluebird Female Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 25 of 36

Eastern Bluebird female Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 28 of 36

Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 27 of 36

Eastern Bluebird Female and male Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 30 of 36

Male and Female Eastern Bluebirds feeding their brood

Common Ringlet Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 11 of 36

Common Ringlet

Yellow Warbler

American Copper

Osprey Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 1 of 2

Osprey Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 24 of 36

Osprey Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 23 of 36

Osprey pair nesting in the far distant marsh

Ox-eye Daisy and Red Clover Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 33 of 36

Red Horsechestnut Tree in Bloom Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 32 of 36

Red-winged Blackbird male Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 14 of 36

Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 35 of 36

Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 31 of 36

Honey Bees Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 2 of 2

Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 8 of 36

Honey Bees Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 19 of 36

Buttercup Path Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 7 of 36

Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 29 of 36

White-tailed Deer Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 21 of 36

Cox Reservation Essex County copyright Kim Smith - 34 of 36

With deep appreciation and thanks to Essex County Greenbelt Association’s Director of Land Stewardship Dave Rimmer for his continued help with Cape Ann’s Piping Plovers. Dave has been providing free of charge guidance, along with exclosing the Plover nests, since 2016.

Allyn Cox Reservation is located at 82 Eastern Avenue, Essex, MA

While filming at my friend Paul’s School Street Sunflowers late in the summer, a gorgeous flock of Bobolinks appeared on the scene. The sunflowers were just the right height for the birds to perch upon to eat the seed heads of the wildflowers and grasses growing in and amongst the field. Bobolinks perch while carefully extracting the seeds and fly-hop to the base of the plant for insect treats. I love Paul’s fields because unlike many flower fields, wildflowers and grasses grow in with the sunflowers. The insects attracted and the ripening seeds and berries provide a wealth of food for songbirds and all manner of wild creatures.

Especially beautiful to hear from the fields, every evening bells ring. I would love to learn to more about the bells. If any readers have more information about the bells, please write!

Sparrow-like, with more finch-like bills, Bobolinks are wonderfully fun to watch and listen to when seen in fields, with a range of songs and calls from metallic buzzy to chenks and zeeps. In the footage you will see females, juveniles, and males in non-breeding plumage.

The males are amazing looking during the breeding season, sporting striking black and white feathers with a straw colored crown.

Bobolink Male, image courtesy wiki commons media

Bobolinks are a migratory grassland songbird bird in decline. From Cornell – “Long-distance migrant. Bobolinks travel about 12,500 miles round-trip every year, in one of the longest migrations of any songbird in the New World. From their northern breeding grounds they fly in groups through Florida and across the Gulf of Mexico toward their wintering grounds in South America.”