Finally! I heard my first Dickcissel of the year along the Deming Way fields during my bike ride to work this morning. Sadly, more foreboding property signs dot the fields indicating they're for sale and slated for development in the near future. Little by little, I've watched these fields disappear over the past several years. But if one looks or listens carefully, feathered jewels like Bobolink, Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Kingbird and Eastern Meadowlark can still be found there. Like many other places around our country, the fields these birds have been using are slowly vanishing. One day I will no longer hear or see Grasshopper Sparrows along the trail during my ride - how very sad. Eventually, sights and sounds of business and commerce will replace the buzzes and whistles of these unique grassland birds.
© 2008 Mike McDowell
