Bobolink: York County, Maine, USA, May 2026 — It is bobolink season here in Southern Maine—or I should say the season when the males are up and singing and highly visible. Bobolinks have among the longest migrations of any North American birds, breeding mostly either side of the US-Canada border from coast to coast (with highest densities in the northern Great Plains and the plains of central Canada) and wintering in the pampas of South America—in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. They need expansive areas of unbroken mixed grasslands and huge meadows. Here in Maine, they are pretty much restricted to hay fields, and their breeding success is determined by when the hay is harvested. Clearly, they have more success on land that is managed for them—on refuges and reserves—but this population takes their chances each year in the fields of a working farm. While the Bobolink is in the same family as blackbirds, it is the only species in its genus, as its totally unique looks might suggest. I am always happy to find them singing from the tops of the tall saplings along the road and doing their flight displays over the fields when I pass on my eTrike. And of course, it is their bubbling liquid song that gives them their name. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at about 800mm equivalent field of view crop. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.