FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Harris's Sparrow still present; 11-4-08

[<birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

11/4/08
Carroll Co (Wingo Loop Rd west of McKenzie off Hwy 79)
 
I  made a quick look for the Harris's again on my way home this morning. After 
a couple of minutes I heard it sing, then got a couple of quick glances near 
the road. I had put some seed out on the edge of the road on my last visit, and 
while there were a number of White-crowns and Cardinals partaking of it, I 
never saw the Harris's feeding on it. Granted, I was only there 20-25 minutes.
I finally tracked the bird down in a very heavily foliaged tree in the yard, as 
it sang it's heart out. I got some distant , but decent, shots with my Pentax 
in the tree. It would have been a perfect digiscoping setup, if I hadn't 
grabbed my old Coolpix which didn't have a battery in it.  The bird stayed in 
the same spot for about 15 minutes, before a train came through and scattered 
everything; the tracks are less than 10 yards from this location.

With better looks today than I had on the 1st day, the bird is still coming 
into breeding plumage. The black isn't as extensive as I 1st thought, and the 
crown especially still has a good bit of pale tipping yet to wear off. At any 
distance though, it just looks black. All of my very limited experience in KY 
and TN of this species, has been of young birds, so it is still definitely a 
treat to see a bird with a lot of black on it. 

I will try and check on the bird again over the weekend at some point, but I 
will be out of town most of next week. 

I have posted 3 shots from today in my spring 2008 gallery, the 1st shot starts 
here: http://www.pbase.com/mctodd/image/95139265

Good Birding!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN 
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd




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