From:           	"Jeremy D. Ross" <rossjd@bgsu.edu>
To:             	Brian Zwiebel <blzwiebel@aol.com>
Copies to:      	"bbowman99@comcast.net" <bbowman99@comcast.net>
Date sent:      	Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:53:37 -0400
Subject:        	Re: Lark Sparrows

Greetings gentlemen,

Brian, you are exactly correct about the behavior of Lark Sparrows in
early June; the females remain on the nests much of the day and males have
a very abbreviated morning chorus. In fact, less those males trying to
attract a mate to marginal habitat, the males are really only prone to
sing between 4:30-5:30 am or every so often in the presence of their
fledglings.

As for the dates that Oak Openings Lark Sparrows can be found, the first
males generally arrive between April 15-20. More males trickle in over the
next week and then females start showing up. If I had to pick the best day
to see a LASP it would be May 5 (Cinco de Mayo in honor of these Mexican
birds that summer up here).  During that time males and females are
defending territories and quite conspicuous, especially considering that
foliage is usually still relatively sparse at that time.

As May progresses into early June the nesting behavior picks up and they
tend to be more quiet and sessile. Once the nestlings hatch you could have
a good chance of spotting an adult carrying food who is perched in a
favored perch near the nest (usually a small tree, especially a
fire-killed little snag).

After mid-June and all the way up to the end of July the breeding
territories largely dissolve and adults and flying juveniles alike appear
to congregate at the Girdham fields, as evidenced by my color-marking
studies. The only problem is that for some reason they tend to favor
perching very high in large trees and away from Girdham Road.

Finally, the LASPs generally leave the breeding grounds in the first week
of August. Preliminary data from a couple geologgers we've been able to
recover indicates that at that time they fly south to the Gulf Coast and
winter in East-Central Mexico from Veracruz south to Oaxaca.

[...]

Jeremy D Ross, PhD.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio. 43403
rossjd@bgsu.edu
lakeeriebirds@gmail.com