FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Lark Sparrow, No- but.........Henslow's, yes!

[<birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

McKenzie area (Henry Co.)
5/1/03

I decided to make a quick run to my recent Lark Sparrow location this morning 
after work, and with a couple of times through the area I had no luck. I'll 
keep an eye out for them, as they always seem to cover a wide area, and there 
is no shortage of habitat in the area. I believe Chris and Jay made a brief 
search for them last weekend with no luck though. Grasshopper Sparrows are 
staking claims throughout the area. I finally got my American Restart this 
morning, without spending any time working warblers.

In some of my recent ramblings around McKenzie, I stumbled into some ideal 
habitat for Henslow's Sparrows, which is not too easy to come by around here. 
This is a fairly extensive area, and I told myself the 1st time through that 
with a little persistence I'd get a Henslow's one of these days. This area is a 
high-voltage powerline transect which follows a ridge, typically the usual type 
of location I run across that looks decent for Henslow's, only this time there 
is a lot of it.  After striking out on the Larks, I decided to make a run 
through this upland Henslow's area, which is no more than 2 miles from the 
location I photographed the Lark Sparrow, before my body totally shut-down from 
lack of sleep. The songs of Field Sparrows, Prairie Warblers, Yellowthroats, 
Indigo Buntings, and Blue Grosbeaks almost had my lulled into a state of 
unconsciousness when on my 4th or 5th stop in the area, a nearby insectish, 
hiccupping song put an instant smile on my face. Since I was coming home from 
work, I didn't have my camera (naturally) so I had to make a flying trip home 
and back which took maybe 20 minutes. Luckily the bird was still on the exact 
stalk it was on when I left. I spent a good while watching and photographing 
this subtly beautiful little songster. I decided to go out into the field a 
little bit, and flushed a Henslow's from almost underfoot, while I still had 
the singing male in view, so there are at least 2 (hopefully a pair on 
territory) at this location. I won't be surprised to find more with the amount 
of territory in the area.

This area is way off the beaten path for most of you, but I'll be glad to give 
directions or help to anyone interested. I've added a couple of shots of the 
Henslow's and one of the habitat for anyone interested, at my website. Look in 
the 'Uncommon to rare local birds (vol. 2) album at: 
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=330&groupID=116215&folderview=&ck=
 .

This is my 2nd local record for Henslow's as I had a singing bird last spring 
in the weedy margin of a cultivated field. This bird was a transient, as the 
area was cut just a few days later. Hopefully today's birds will be a different 
story.

Good birding!!!!!!!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
Carroll Co.
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
        jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx      (423) 764-3958
=========================================================