Dickcissels

Still no Blue Grosbeak, but the bike survey turned up about 25 dickcissels at a couple south county locations (sadly no Henslow's this morning either, and at least one of their fields has been mowed).

But the Dickcissels were singing away.

Dick...

...ciss ciss ciss!

There were a lot around

Some are very much still learning the song, there was a lot of variability today.  There were a couple singing very much in the young White-throated Sparrow scratchy vein.

But they tend to homogenize over the course of the summer, whether young males are parroting the brightest local males the way Indigo Buntings do, or if just based on what the females respond to I don't know...