Out in a Christmas tree farm near Airlie (Polk County) today, while scanning
for sparrows I noticed a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE perched atop a tree that will end
up in someone's living room 2 or 3 years from now.
In the same field was a LINCOLN'S SPARROW that was oddly territorial, sitting
up repeatedly in response to Vesper Sparrow songs, and ultimately being chased
by a male VESPER SPARROW (one of the color-banded birds that we're tracking as
part of an ongoing American Bird Conservancy project). We tend to think of
Lincoln's Sparrows as reclusive, based on their habits while wintering in
western Oregon. But this one was about as easy to see as any of the
White-crowned or other sparrows out there today.
--
Joel Geier
Tampico Ridge north of Corvallis
