Bobolink

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Bobolink

The bobolink is a medium-sized songbird found in grasslands and hayfields throughout most of Ontario south of the boreal forest. Male and female bobolinks have tan plumage, but during summer breeding season the male bobolink develops plumage that is black in colour with a distinctive white back and yellow collar. Their preferred nesting sites are dense grasses in hayfields. The bobolink is listed as a threatened species in Ontario.

Ontario Nature supports MNR’s proposal of a three-year exemption under the Endangered Species Act that will allow farmers to continue current agricultural practices even if bobolinks are nesting on their land. MNR recognizes both the importance of agricultural fields in providing bobolink habitat, as well as the threat that farming practices (specifically, cutting hay in the spring when the birds are nesting) pose to the conservation of bobolink populations.

To ensure the survival and recovery of bobolinks, it is imperative that MNR work in collaboration with stakeholders to develop an effective bobolink conservation plan.

To learn more, please e-mail Anne Bell, director of conservation and education, at anneb@ontarionature.org.

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