ML635638594

觀察細節

*RARE. Awesome. Less than 30 records all time for Baltimore City; this is the first one not at the “big three” of city birding (Masonville, McHenry, and Patterson), and the furthest up the Middle Branch. At about 7:00am, I was walking along the riprap when a drab sparrow flushed from the rocks at the northwest corner of the park and flew further northwest into the patch of phrags. The thought crossed my mind, but quickly disappeared with the bird. Ten minutes later, I thought I might as well scan the phrags to see if anything happened to be out in the open. And there, foraging on just a few inches of exposed mud, was a Seaside Sparrow (around here: 39°15'43.5"N 76°37'05.5"W). The bird was distant, and I only managed to get one identifiable doc shot before it disappeared around the corner, continuing northwest. I waited for about 20 minutes for the bird to reappear, but it never did. While the view may have been disappointing, I was thrilled with the bird. I then worked my way back, counterclockwise, around the park, with a close eye on the riprap. Nothing flushed, but as I arrived at the southeast corner of the park, I noticed some movement at the southernmost tip of the long, thin phrag patch that lines the eastern border of the park—Seaside Sparrow! Here I was treated to much more obliging views, and as I sat down on the rocks and stayed still for a few minutes, the bird eventually came right out to the edge and then foraged on the rocks, sometimes within a few feet of me. YET AGAIN, the bird-your-patch challenge pays off. Needless to say, first record for West Covington Park ;)