ROCHESTER — Marion birder Carol Molander recently sighted (and photographed) an increasingly threatened songbird species, called bobolinks, at East Over Farm. 

These birds were formerly called "Old Robert of Lincoln," and the name was shortened to Bobolink. Breeding males are black white and cream, while others are yellow-brown. Molander spotted one of the breeding males. 

Mass Audobon says that bobolinks are on the decline because the fields they nest in are mowed in early August, destroying nests, eggs and hatchlings. The organization has even started a project, called the “Bobolink Project” to give farmers financial assistance so they don’t feel economic pressure to mow until later in the summer.