Birding Beginnings

It's a little odd when we reach a point in life when our memories of the past become an ever increasing fraction of our current thoughts. It's beginning to happen to me.

I didn't teach my son to bird. He taught me.

So, I'm truly enjoying his take on his childhood in his blog series entitled "Life Birds". My wife's and my journey "back to the land" and "back to town" has greatly impacted his love for nature in general and for birds in particular. For that, I am very grateful.
See you over at The Drinking Bird!

December Delights

It has truly been a joyous season. December birding for me has included several sightings for the record books. It all began on December 2 with the local sightings of Black-crowned Night Heron and a Selasphorus sp. hummer that has since been confirmed as a Rufous.

Less than a week later, my friend Marvin and I discovered my highlight for the month, a Northern Shrike. Despite several attempts to relocate the bird in the following days, it remained undetected until Charley Burwick managed to spot the bird on December 22. Again, all follow up attempts to find the bird have been futile since the second sighting.

Ron Thompson called early in the month to report a visiting Baltimore Oriole. The fate of the bird remains unknown as Ron left the area for HIS wintering grounds, inspite of the fact that the Oriole's internal mechanism to leave for its wintering grounds is apparently malfunctioning.

On the 22nd of December, my son from North Carolina arrived with a few target species in mind. Less than an hour after his arrival, Charley called with his report of the Northern Shrike, so we high tailed it to Fellow's Lake just as dramatic weather changes took place. Needless to say, we were unsuccessful in our attempt to find the shrike, but stopped by Nixon Farm to see the Short-eared Owls that have been hanging out there this month.

More of N8's and my outings on the next post.

2007 Lifers, Ay? Bay...., and Clay Day

North American life birds are few and far between these days. So when a day comes that one makes its appearance in the bins, it is indeed a good day, one to celebrate. Today's lifer brings back memories of #369, two Bay-breasted Warblers in the Mark Twain National Forest last spring. And those Bays bring to mind a spring whose warbler numbers I may never see again. I hope I'm wrong about that.

But, today, the Bay has turned to Clay, as in Clay-colored Sparrow, and that is what I am celebrating. I know how this species can be confused with the Chipping Sparrow, but I have gone over my field notes, run through field guides, looked at internet photos, and called my bird savvy son. He says that they are seen in mixed flocks with Chipping Sparrows (as Sibley guide mentions), and that the field marks and observations that I describe are consistent with the species.

I met this bird as it flushed with a flock of Chippies. It fed alone on asphalt near a maintenance building at Fellows Lake, 25-30 feet from the small flock of Chipping Sparrows. It's head was rounder and larger than a Chipping Sparrow giving it an overall larger appearance. It had a very buffy supercilium, clean facial markings, clear white patches around its moustache, a buffy overall appearance, and an indistinct rump that contrasted with the highly visible gray rumps of the nearby Chippies. I can't remember a gray nape, but the clean, contrasting marks on the head were strikingly different from the more ratty appearing Chipping Sparrows. This caught my attention. The bird was feeding on the ground which could have partially hidden its nape.


At any rate, the Clay-colored Sparrow had entered my life list at number 370.

So, hip, hip, hooray for bays, and clays, and days like these!

Red-tailed Hawk poses for me at Fellows Lake