This morning, led by transplanted Virginia birder Dick Peake, John and I walked grassy fields near Galveston, searching for the somewhat elusive Le Conte's Sparrow (photo). The first field didn't produce any candidates. However, while crossing the second one, a sparrow of the right color and flight pattern took off from beneath our feet, flew out in front of us, and lit in a small bush. It was a eureka moment. The bird then flew off and dove back into the grass. I raced ahead to get the sun to my back, then waited while Dick and John walked slowly toward me. Would you believe it! Mr. Elusive flew up and into the bush directly in front of me allowing a great photo to be taken (photo). The bird was a lifer for John. After high fives all around, we spent the rest of the day adding birds to our growing year's list. We left Galveston mid-afternoon and drove to Lake Jackson where Sue Heath, a recently departed Virginian, is working for the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. We met Sue after work and she gave us a tour of the sanctuary adding more birds to our list. We all went out to dinner to celebrate John's lifer and ended the day overnighting at Sue's as her guest. Thanks Sue! Tomorrow, the Whooping Crane. Current total: 174.
This morning, led by transplanted Virginia birder Dick Peake, John and I walked grassy fields near Galveston, searching for the somewhat elusive Le Conte's Sparrow (photo). The first field didn't produce any candidates. However, while crossing the second one, a sparrow of the right color and flight pattern took off from beneath our feet, flew out in front of us, and lit in a small bush. It was a eureka moment. The bird then flew off and dove back into the grass. I raced ahead to get the sun to my back, then waited while Dick and John walked slowly toward me. Would you believe it! Mr. Elusive flew up and into the bush directly in front of me allowing a great photo to be taken (photo). The bird was a lifer for John. After high fives all around, we spent the rest of the day adding birds to our growing year's list. We left Galveston mid-afternoon and drove to Lake Jackson where Sue Heath, a recently departed Virginian, is working for the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. We met Sue after work and she gave us a tour of the sanctuary adding more birds to our list. We all went out to dinner to celebrate John's lifer and ended the day overnighting at Sue's as her guest. Thanks Sue! Tomorrow, the Whooping Crane. Current total: 174.
Nice picture, good bird.
ReplyDeleteSo, what's the count at the end of the day?
ReplyDeleteHappy trails and "fair winds and following seas".
ReplyDeleteGeorge & Rosemarie
Hey Bob - This bird looks odd. It lacks most of the marks I would associate with Le Conte's, but maybe there are other photos?
ReplyDeleteLooks like a Nelson's Sparrow.
ReplyDeleteThis bird is definitely NOT a LeConte's Sparrow, so I hope you found the species elsewhere for you Big Year. It IS a Sharp-tailed, and I would say Nelson's from my experience with all of these species.
ReplyDeleteTim Kalbach
Leadville, CO
this is a perfect example of how doing a big year isn't reflective at all of what kind of birder you are. You have, in that photo, a picture perfect, textbook photograph of a Nelson's Sparrow, and failed at the ID even after posting the picture! Unbelievable. Whatever total you come up with, it'll probably be the most unimpressive of all the notable big years. Maybe that's just me being jealous of not having hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw around chasing staked out birds in the US, but this just goes to show that it doesn't take the best of the best to get the records.
ReplyDelete