December 4, 2006

I was happy to read Glen Crippen's report from The Wilds, which mentioned calling 
meadowlarks on a crisp frosty morning this past weekend. I  also have been hearing their 
distinctive voices on my farm in western Muskingum County, consistently on clear mornings 
through November. 

I am usually skeptical of "out of season" bird song, because of the number of starlings 
present, some of whose mimicry can really throw one for a loop. I particularly find that out 
of season "pewee" voices usually can be attributed to starlings.

I haven't seen any meadowlarks on the farm lately, but one can still hear them.

Our usual one over-wintering mockingbird, seasonally silent, is feeding on rose hips, 
bittersweet, etc. around the edge of our successional field on the back ridge.

Bob Evans
Geologist, etc.
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County
DeLorme 70 A1
(Currently in southern California, where I unsuccessfully sought my lifer ferruginous hawk 
this morning. There is one that has been hanging out at an abandoned Marine airbase 
nearby.)

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