[TN-Bird] more on CLAY-COLORED SPARROW

From: David Trently <dtrently@xxxxxxx>
To: TN-Bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 15:29:05 -0400
Ed Manous, Harold Howell, Tony King and I were able to get excellent looks at 
a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at Kyker Bottoms Wildlife Refuge in Blount County in 
east Tennessee. Kyker is off route 129 south of Knoxville...129 and 411 run 
together for a bit, then 129 goes south from it. A few miles down, about a 
half mile past a Phillips 66 station, turn right onto Garland Rd and drive 
about a mile to the refuge. You'll see a barn on the right (no parking), then 
soon you'll come to a gravel parking area on the right. Park there.
Walk back toward the barn. You'll soon pass some open water on your left and 
will see a tall cedar tree. All along the fencerows near this tree is where 
the sparrow was seen.
Ed found it first. How? Many people ask, "How can you tell sparrows apart? 
They all look the same to me!" A good answer is, "Learn the common ones! Then 
you look for something different..." That's what Ed did. He saw a sparrow with 
a face pattern unlike any of the common birds he was familiar with. I thought 
maybe he had a young Field Sparrow, or maybe even a Lark Sparrow - until I saw 
the bird.

Here's a description:
* It had a very noticeable gray nape (shoulder area, area behind the head).
* unstreaked pale breast and flanks
* obvious whitish stripe above the eye
* dark streak above that - with a whitish stripe down the center of the head
* pinkish bill
* dark line back from the eye, not in front (no dark lore)
* obviously outlined auricular (ear patch, area behind eye). Streaks most 
visible at top (postocular) and bottom (moustachial) of auricular
* white submoustachial
* only a slight hint of a malar stripe
* pale buffy area at sides of breast
* no rusty feathers in wings or on back
* median coverts showed a bit of a buffy wing stripe
* pale pinkish legs

When the bird was in trees, it was very approachable and walked out to the 
ends of branches, giving great looks. Sometimes it flew into the grasses and 
disappeared. We flushed it once and it went back into the trees.

If you go and don't see it in the trees/shrubs try walking through the 
grasses, especially the high ground toward the barn (near a few goldenrod 
flowers). The ground is dry here.

We hope to go out to try to photograph it tomorrow afternoon.

We also found about 10 Wilson's Snipe, about a half dozen each Marsh and Sedge 
Wrens, 2 Soras.

David Trently
Knoxville, TN

=================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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    ========================================================
[TN-Bird] more on CLAY-COLORED SPARROW

Other related posts:
