[texbirds] thoughts re. the SPI Golden-crowned Sparrow

From: "Rex Stanford" <calidris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "TEXBIRDS" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 18 May 2013 11:13:28 -0500
One of the signers of this posting (Birgit) was the finder of the South
Padre Island Golden-crowned Sparrow yesterday (05/17/13). I (Rex, the other
undersigned) was an immediate beneficiary of that find, as was Erik Breden,
because the three of us were on a joint birding trip and happened to be
within Birgit's discreet-level shouting distance when she spotted this
sparrow that she knew right away was unfamiliar to her and called us over to
see and try to identify it. It was a lifer for the two undersigned, but
Erik, who had seen this species out west, after surprise and momentary
circumspection on whether the bird could possibly be what it seemed to be,
rapidly grew confident in confronting the unequivocal evidence of the bird
itself and quickly announced to us the sparrow's identification as this
utterly unexpected species. Erik, who had Scarlet Colley's phone number with
him, immediately called her and she agreed to call Mary Gustafson right away
to see that the news got out. (We were at hand when he called Scarlet, so we
made no calls to either Scarlet or Mary ourselves, which would have been
redundant.) All of us then started spreading the news by word to those
around who seemed to be birders. Birders starting coming in pretty quickly,
some having already learned of this bird, so we knew the word was out,
helped get the new arrivals on it, and after Scarlet arrived and replenished
with bird-food seed the grass/tree boundary where the bird liked to forage
and to help those wished to see it, we headed out to lunch but checked back
later for final looks at and more photos of this startlingly rare bird. More
birders were arriving--some with prior knowledge of the bird from TEXBIRDS
(and elsewhere), some without--and we figured that we had done what we could
do to get out the news while on site. We knew the local situation would be
in good hands with Scarlet there. We headed northward to Laguna Heights and
Laguna Atascosa NWR, but the birding at both sights was very slow, and it
looked as if most of the migrant shorebirds and waders might have taken
advantage of the southeast wind to make their way northward.

Having been driving and/or in the field birding from early morning, after
dinner the two older folks (i.e., the undersigned) of our birding trio
headed back to McAllen and soon sought the respite of sleep at home (with
sweet dreams, of course, of a wonderfully unexpected surprise bird). Special
thanks to Erik for his two postings, yesterday evening to clarify who had
found (Birgit) and who (Erik) had identified this bird, and early this
morning to get out a very fine synopsis of information useful to those
seeking this bird and to provide a link to his superb photos of it. If you
are going in search of it, you probably should take a look at them to know
this individual bird a bit ahead of time. Whether one is seeking it or not,
Erik's are great pictures and fun to see, both of the Golden-crowned Sparrow
and of other interesting things of our trip yesterday.

In seeking the bird, please keep in mind that it was seen to forage at the
boundary of trees and the grass line south of the concrete walkway that lies
immediately south of the Convention Center and, sometimes, that same kind of
boundary immediately south of the south end of the nearby yellow retainer
wall that runs a short distance southward from the Convention Center.  Also,
it sometimes went into trees, usually on a journey to approach (or return
from) the water feature for water and/or for bathing, so it sometimes was
seen at the water feature itself. When it foraged at the margin of
trees/grass it usually was underneath overhanging vegetation. When the sun
was out, creating light areas and shadow, it seemed strongly to prefer being
in the shadows as it fed. Sometimes it could disappear into the undergrowth
of brush, especially with the approach of larger birds such as Great-tailed
Grackles and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. A little patience, though, was
often rewarded by seeing it reappear in the tree-grass boundary, either in
the same location or, often, such an area not far away. Most, but not all,
such areas that it used had "bird seed," but that was not always the case.

Please be considerate of this very welcome visitor so far from where its
kind normally are at any time of the year. It will need rest and strength to
try to find its way back to its own, far distant, kind, and the conditions
that will help it get ready for that long journey are the very ones that can
help ensure that birders will be able to find it so long as it remains in
the area.

Thanks, again, to Scarlet Colley and Mary Gustafson for their roles in
getting out this good news and to Erik for his early postings (with links to
superb photos) when the two undersigned, tired after a very long day of
driving and birding, slept restfully after having gratefully received from
nature itself the vivid message "It's not over 'till its over!" What an
incredible springtime we have had in South Texas!

Best wishes to those seeking to find the Golden-crowned Sparrow,
Rex and Birgit Stanford
McAllen, TX

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[texbirds] thoughts re. the SPI Golden-crowned Sparrow

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