Subject: Re: Montlake fill
Date: Jul 15 19:07:48 1996
From: Janet Partlow - partlowj at elwha.evergreen.edu


Hello Dennis,
Western Meadowlarks do show up at Nisqually in the summer and the
Skokomish delta and I believe they can be heard calling, so I'd assumed
they were breeding there. They call incessantly through the spring in
locations such as Mima prairie habitat like Scatter Creek and similar
parts of Ft. Lewis. Maybe the Montlake is just not large enough or
undisturbed enough? Anyway, an interesting thread.
Janet

On Mon, 15 Jul 1996, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> >Hello all,
> > Western Meadowlarks are uncommon but fairly reliable seen in
> >saltmarsh estuaries such as Nisqually WLR and Skokomish Delta throughout
> >the year. I am always surprised when I find them in winter, but in fact
> >they are regulars. SO the MOntlake fill would not surprise me as a
> >habitat, and I would not be surprised if the immature you saw was hatched
> >somehwere in the vicinity.
> >Janet Partlow
> >partlowj at elwha.evergreen.edu
>
> I'd be very surprised, Janet. As Mike wrote, meadowlarks are occasional
> visitors to the fill, but I think the grassland available is much too
> limited to make a meadowlark happy for a breeding territory now. They
> don't breed (but do winter) in the much more extensive grassland at
> Magnuson Park. I don't know if they breed in King Co. or not, although
> Hunn cites a 1982 breeding record near Renton. Were any found in the
> county during the BBA, Mike?
>
> Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
> Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
> University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
> Tacoma, WA 98416
>
>
>