 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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-2.92 (-3.23 - -2.57)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Bobolinks were found in over 750 atlas squares to the south of the boreal forest. They were most prevalent in the south and east of the province, and their relative abundance and probability of observation both declined towards the northwest. While the flight display of males makes them rather conspicuous, gathering evidence of confirmed breeding proved challenging. Breeding was confirmed in only 33 squares, primarily involving adults carrying food for their young, with no reports before 21 June. The delightful robotic song of the Bobolink was heard at 409 point-count locations, often in areas with nearby native wet meadow cover, remnants thereof, hay fields, and agricultural field margins.
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
Males use an exuberant spring courtship song and aerial displays, sometimes in groups, to attract one or more mates. The Bobolink nests in North America's grassland and agricultural areas from the interior of British Columbia to the Maritimes, south to Colorado and West Virginia. It undergoes one of the longest migrations of any passerine, a round trip of 20,000 km with an extended stopover in Venezuela before proceeding south to Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina (Martin and Gavin 1995).
The Bobolink favours wet meadows and hayfields but may also be found in overgrown, weedy areas; the edges of sloughs; or in fields of alfalfa, clover, winter wheat, fall rye (Roy 1996), and even a canola crop (Wedgwood 1988a). Bobolinks use planted cover but are more likely to do so when it is in the proximity of native grassland (Davis et al. 2013).
"The abundance of the Bobolink decreases markedly from east to west across the prairies: fairly common in eastern Saskatchewan, uncommon and local in the west. Its northern limits correspond fairly closely with the limit of agriculture? (Smith 1996).
Original text by Donna Bruce. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Bobolink in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Bobolink in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BOBO&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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