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Dickcissel nest located



Shelley Theye and I just located the Dickcissel nest at Anilorac Farm. 
It contains 4 eggs, none of them cowbirds.  I put up two posts some
distance to either side of the nest to mark its location halfway between
the posts.

Shelley has taken the initiative in speaking to Mr. Snipes about not
mowing the nest location.  He has indicated willingness to cooperate,
and I think we owe Shelley a big thanks for doing this, especially as he
said that he had planned to mow that field.

The posts marking the nest location are for the benefit of Mr. Snipes so
that we knows exactly the spot we are concerned about.  Please don't
everyone beat a path to the nest as that will defeat the protective
purpose of the posts.  The vegetation tramples easily and is already
trampled enough.

The disappearance and reappearance of the male is fascinating.  I have
personally spent something close to 3 hours watching for it on three
different days this week with no sign of it, and I know others have
looked for it unsuccessfully too.  The last previous reported
observation before yesterday was the 13th.  A Dickcissel is not a bird
that is easily missed if it's present.  There was just a discussion on
the Nebraska birding list about how variable Dickcissels' songs are, so
I was interested to hear if today's bird might sound different, i.e., be
a different individual, but to me it sounds exactly the same.  It's a
3-parted song of introductory dick-dick, then a rapid run of notes, then
the supposed ciss-sel part; quite recognizably different from any of the
recordings I have, which are Peterson Eastern and Western, and Stokes'
guides.

-- 
Kent Fiala
Hillsborough, NC