[obol] 12/18/13 - Union County : BUSHTIT, HARRIS'S SPARROW, etc.

  • From: AVITOURS@xxxxxxx
  • To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2013 17:28:42 -0500 (EST)

Birders -
After our 38th annual Union County Christmas Bird Count  Countdown/Potluck 
at The Bobolink, on Sunday, December 15th, Bruce Johnson,  leader of Area #1 
(South Union), sheepishly mentioned to me that he, Mary  Rowland and Len 
Paur encountered a flock of about 30 small birds that had some  Chickadees 
with them.  He described the non-chickadees as long-tailed,  short billed, and 
gray.  He admitted that it all happened pretty quick and  they lost sight of 
the flock and didn't get very good looks.  I hadn't  slept for 37 + hours, 
due to preparation of the count, Owling, and diurnal  birding, and I must 
admit that nothing came to mind at the time, and the  sighting soon passed.  
On Monday, at work, I was compiling the effort and  putting numbers into the 
computer, when the thought of long-tailed,  short-billed, gray birds popped 
into my head, and was soon followed by the  thought of Bushtits.  I called 
Bruce and left him a message on the phone,  with the gray bird/Bushtit 
concept.  Later in the day, I received an  e-mail, which essentially said that 
he 
and Mary both thought that Bushtits could  have been what they saw, with 
details of exact location, directions, time,  etc.  Tuesday and Wednesday 
mornings I spent several hours on Ramon Flat  Road and south on HWY 203 looking 
for any possible Bushtits, to no avail.   I relocated the CBC's first winter 
HARRIS'S SPARROW with the DARK-EYED JUNCO  flock along Ramo Flat Road on 
both visits.  During yesterday's visit, I  found an interesting CHICKADEE which 
I photographed .  I think it may have  some mixed parentage.  Here is the 
location of the  photo:
http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx176/thebobolink/BCCHXMOCH.jpg
I  also found a interesting discussion with photos regarding hybrids:  
https://www.flickr.com/groups/hybridbirds/discuss/72157613164363562/
This  morning (12/19, 9 - 10 a.m.), I was back in the area on Ramo Flat 
Road looking  for the Bushtits.  I drove up to the top of the road and then 
back  down.  I relocated the HARRIS'S SPARROW once again and then stopped to 
look  for the probable hybrid Chickadee.  I played Black-capped Chickadee song 
 and call notes several times, when all of a sudden, I could see a tight 
flock of  birds 'bouncing' down the side of the ravine towards me ... I got 
the binos  on them and there were 16 BUSTITS!  They fluttered through the 
Elderberry  and Hawthorne brush, around the truck and me, and up the other 
hillside and out  of sight.  I snapped a few photos, which one of the better 
ones 
can be  viewed here:  
http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx176/thebobolink/BUSH.jpg
This was a nice  confirmation of a Union County CBC first, and a new Union 
County bird for me!  Thanks Bruce, Mary & Len.
Good birding,
- Trent  
The Bobolink - Linking Birders &  Birds
1707 5th Street
La Grande, OR  97850
(541) 963 -  2888
avitours@xxxxxxx
 


OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol
Manage your account or unsubscribe: //www.freelists.org/list/obol
Contact moderators: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Other related posts:

  1. Home
  2. obol
  3. Archive
  4. 12-2013