ML598811101

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The Striped Sparrow appeared at 9:30 at a slightly different location – it was at least 150 yards East of the No Dumping sign, right at a slight bend in the road. It was feeding in the grassy shoulder on the S side of the road with a mixed sparrow and Cardinal flock. Some seed was put out at this location. The bird made several appearances from 9:30 to 10:30 when I left, flying back into the brush on the S side of the road at times. To my knowledge through 1 PM the bird was not seen in and around the No Dumping sign area. Also interesting was that the birds at the eastern location where the Striped Sparrow was seen today did not mix with the birds at the No Dumping sign – a very different assortment of birds at the 2 locations. From my blog - At first light I arrived at the well-described roadside spot where the Striped Sparrow had been frequenting – along CR 428 0.1 miles east of its intersection with CR 361 near the No Dumping sign. There was already a flock of sparrows feeding on the shoulder, but it was a bit too dark to identify them. I parked the car a short distance to the east and set up my scope to wait for a little more light. As it got closer to sunrise I could start to pick out quite a number of Harris’ and White-crowned Sparrows, along with smaller sparrows which were especially Songs and Lincoln’s. But no target bird. I was still optimistic, since there was almost constant activity along the shoulder – I just needed to wait until it arrived at its identified feeding spot. Between 8:00 and 8:30 4 other birders arrived, which ordinarily would have been a good thing – more eyes to look for the bird. But a couple of the birders were quite talkative, and one was especially loud. Plus one talked the others into standing closer to the feeding spot to get a better look at the bird when it did arrive. With all the talking I was worried that we were too close. During this time one birder mentioned that they had been there 5 hours the previous day and had not seen the bird. Another said it is now most likely seen near dusk. Suddenly I wasn’t feeling too optimistic. Then one birder mentioned that maybe we should look back to the east a short distance since it was seen there the previous day. I hadn’t read anything about this second spot, but I looked over there and sure enough there were about a dozen sparrows feeding there at the road’s edge. It was 150-200 yards to the east and too far to identify the sparrows from our new location. So I decided to walk toward that second area and give it a try. Besides, there was no reason to have all of us looking at just the one location. Plus I could get away from all the yacking that was going on. Over the next hour or so the sparrows continued to come and go – I counted 10 species in total. And there was a constant chorus of Carolina Wrens and Red-bellied Woodpeckers from the adjacent woods. At one point I heard a Titmouse and I took a break from the sparrow watching to see what I imagined would be a Black-crested Titmouse for the first time in years. However, it turned out to be a Tufted Titmouse – a rarity for the eBird list. Another rarity for the area was an adult Red-headed Woodpecker that came within earshot. A couple flyby Caracaras were nice too though not unusual – I just don’t see that one much (despite a couple tries for one in Maine this summer!). Another interesting reflection while scanning through the sparrows was that I probably saw more Harris’ Sparrows that day than ever before – likely 15-20 birds. Then I realized why – although I’ve seen this species in 14 states across the country, I’ve never birded in their key wintering range in winter. At 9:30 I finally struck paydirt. I was back to scanning through the flock when all of a sudden, there it was – the Striped Sparrow. No question about the ID – a large sparrow (roughly Harris’ size), wide black ear patch, white supercilium, and dark rusty cap. I quickly got the other birders on it, and we enjoyed long views of it as it fed. At times it would retreat with the other sparrows back to the brush, and would then reappear a couple minutes later on the shoulder. Where had that bird been all morning? Although the sun angle wasn’t the best, I got a number of phonescoped photos, including these passable shots. Initially assumed this would be a wild, countable lifebird. ABA Continental #744, Lower 48 #722, US #746. But not accepted by the TXRBC in 2016 so I removed it from my lifelists.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 4S

ISO

50

Focal length

4.3 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/2.4

Shutter speed

1/125 sec

Dimensions

762 pixels x 704 pixels

Original file size

262.89 KB