Missbirders,
I bet you're reading this because I mentioned fire. And that's okay.
You know it's a good day when you can experience all the primal elements of
life: earth, air, fire, and sparrows. And today was a good day. Delta Wind
Birds and Strawberry Plains Audubon Center (SPAC) partnered for our annual
Winter Grassland Birding and Sparrow ID Workshop in Holly Springs this
morning. We began with a little stroll around the grasslands at SPAC to
appreciate the difficulty of identifying those LBJs. And, on cue, the
sparrows were pretty skittish this morning, keeping us at a distance and
views a little sketchy except for a cooperative Fox Sparrow or two.
Convinced that sparrows may have earned their difficult reputation, we
retired indoors for a presentation convincing all that sparrows really are
quite easy to identify. And we haven't yet fully wrapped our heads around
the dissonance of those two experiences.
Following the indoor presentation, to fuel a second wind, the SPAC staff
and Kristina Mitchell treated us to a fine lunch of spicy corn chowder,
SPAC crackers, and sandwiches before we headed to Hudsonville for the
annual Le Conte's Sparrow hunt. There was some doubt about the probability
of a Le Conte's this year as our usual spot of beautiful native grassland
was scheduled for a prescribed burn this morning. Luckily, the timing
worked out, and we were invited onto the back of the property (unburned)
near the end of the prescribed burn. So we got to see the great
conflagration in progress as well as hunt for Le Conte's! Here's a video of
the last dramatic moments of the fire: https://flic.kr/p/Rg52uU and a
picture of the man of the hour, which I have titled "Prometheus
Mississippiensis": https://flic.kr/p/RLZCQQ
After watching the fire for a bit we headed to the back of the property to
hunt for sparrows. With 20+ participants we covered ground quickly stomping
for Le Conte's Sparrows and soon flushed a couple in addition to several
Melospiza. True to their nature, though, they made us work for good views
and a few gave us "the Ammodramus slip". Finally, one flushed to the tree
line and quite literally laid low in the leaf litter long enough for most
to get good views and for many to get great photos (e.g., Hal Mitchell's
included in checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S34157684).
A beautiful day, a target bird, and a giant fire. Speaking liberally for
the group, a good time was had by all.
Special thanks to Tom and Jane Heineke for hosting us, to John Gruchy for
his exceptional work with private landowners on good habitat management,
and to all private landowners in the state who make the extra effort for
wildlife.
Good birding,
JR
