Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
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Bobolink [dorsal view of basic-plumaged individual]. Photograph Credit: Carol D. Williams; County House Rd., DeKalb County, Tennessee; 13 May 2007.
Abundance: Uncommon during spring; Very Uncommon during fall; Occasional during early summer and early winter; recorded in 22 Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are inadequate to determine a trend in the population migrating through the Region and even more inadequate to determine a trend in the very small possible Regional breeding population (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).
Status: Transient during spring and fall; Visitor (and possible Summer Resident) during summer (1 record); and Visitor during winter (1 record); photograph (see above).
Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 86 (3 May 2011; White County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 13 (25 September 2004; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.).
Out-of-Season (Summer) Records:
9/11 June 2010 (2—singing and displaying males/4—3 singing and displaying males and 1 probable female) Cummings-McWilliams Rd., Pulaski County, Kentucky (Stephen J. Stedman/Roseanna M. Denton), a Pulaski County Foray record on the former date; the field where these males were displaying had been cut by 19 June 2010 when no Bobolinks could be located (Roseanna M. Denton).
Out-of-Season (Winter) Records:
20–28 December 2003 (1—basic male) Ironwood Golf Course, Putnam County, Tennessee (Michael J. Hawkins, Kenneth L. Morgan, Ginger K. Ensor, Stephen J. Stedman photo [25 December 2003]; Hawkins et al. 2005), a CBC record.
Regional Extreme Dates:
Spring: x (
Fall: x (
Note: Spring arrival is generally widespread by 5 May, while spring departure is usually complete by 15 May although the data for spring departure dates are quite thin; dates for widespread fall arrival and fairly complete fall departure are difficult to estimate because fall data are quite thin. Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported spring departure, as well as earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported fall departure, for the migration seasons 2002–2011 follow:
| Year | Early Spring Arrival Date | Late Spring Departure Date | Early Fall Arrival Date | Late Fall Departure Date |
| 2002 | 27 April | 21 May | 11 September | 25 September |
| 2003 | 1 May | 24 May | -- | 20 September |
| 2004 | 2 May | -- | 31 August | 9 October |
| 2005 | 22 April | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006 | 29 April | 20 May | -- | -- |
| 2007 | 28 April | -- | -- | 15 September |
| 2008 | 3 May | 15 May | -- | 4 October |
| 2009 | 2 May | 11 May | -- | -- |
| 2010 | 26 April | -- | -- | 27 September |
| 2011 | 30 April | -- | 4 September | 17 September |
Breeding: Possible (Recent). Courtship displays were observed in one block during Pulaski County Foray 9 and 11 June 2010 (see Out-of-Season (Summer) Records [above]).
Habitat: Weedy fields; fields with some types of densely planted agricultural crops.
YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 0 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 1 (of 206) check-list during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Rare during the latter year; this YardWatch frequency classification is inconsistent with the overall Regional abundance classification.
Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):
| County | Dates when Foray Conducted | Total
Blocks in County * |
Total
Blocks in which Bobolink Recorded |
Total
Individuals Recorded |
| Adair | 8–16 June 2014 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Barren | 1–6 June 2013 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Clinton | 12–14 June 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland | 16–20 June 2014 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| McCreary | 30 May–5 Jun 2011 | 51 | 0 | 0 |
| Metcalfe | 8–12 June 2013 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Monroe | 1–12 June 2015 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Pulaski | 5–11 June 2010 | 72 | 2 | 3 |
| Russell | 13–16, 26–29 June 2012 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne | 28 May–3 June 2012 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 434 (408) | 2 (0.46%) | 3 | |
| Bledsoe | 18–24 June 2012 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| Clay | 12–15 June 2010 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland | 29 May–4 June 2010 | 75 | 0 | 0 |
| DeKalb | 23–26 May 2008 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Fentress | 11–17 June 2012 | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson | 29 May–1 Jun 2009 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Macon | 17–22 June 2013 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Morgan | 1–8 June 2014 | 58 | 0 | 0 |
| Overton | 23–29 May 2011 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| Pickett | 22–25 May 2009 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Putnam | 6–12 June 2011 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott | 9–24 June 2016 | 62 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith | 15–25 June 2015 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| Van Buren | 13–15 June 2011 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren | 1–10 June 2016 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| White | 1–6 June 2015 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee—no data | 724 (651) | 0 (0%) | 0 | |
| Region | 1158 (c. 1059) | 2 (0.17%) | 3 |
* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.
Remarks: x
Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.
| Barren | Metcalfe | Adair | Russell | Pulaski |
| Monroe | Cumberland | Clinton | Wayne | McCreary |
| Macon | Clay | Pickett | Fentress | Scott |
| Smith | Jackson | Overton | Putnam | Morgan |
| DeKalb | White | Cumberland | ||
| Warren | Van Buren | Bledsoe |
Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.
Literature Cited
