Rare Sparrows

Vesper Sparrow

    Last Saturday, Laurie and I went to Richmond, RI and saw a rare (for New England) Vesper Sparrow. I'd only seen four in my life. On this day we saw three more bringing my total to seven! They were in a small flock with Song and Savannah Sparrows. They were not afraid of people or passing cars feeding right along the edge of the road. 

   Today I hung out with my friend Charles in Newport. We saw an even rarer sparrow. It was a Lark Sparrow that has been hanging around Fort Adams for over a month. Lark Sparrows are a sparrow of open fields and meadows in the Midwest. Why this bird decided to take up roots in Rhode Island I do not know. It has been seen by dozens of birders over the last few weeks. Today was my second time seeing it. It was the first bird we saw when we pulled into Fort Adams. I was still driving! I wish Lady Luck was always that generous

Lark Sparrow

*Note- I finally got a job. I'm working at Bass Pro Shops in the fishing dept. This explains why my blog has been quiet as of late. Hopefully, as I get back into the groove, I'll spend more of my days off on adventures. For the past few weeks, most of my days off have been hosting bird club events.

*Note #2- I messed with the white balance on my camera completely ruining most of my sparrow photos. I didn't notice until I got home tonight. While I did delete some washed out photos of the Lark Sparrow that would have been calendar worthy if I didn't f them up, I'm lucky to have salvaged a couple decent photos of both birds.

Below are a couple of other birds I saw in the last couple of weeks.

Ring Necked Pheasant

Short Eared Owl

Bonnie Yellow Birds

 

Hermit Warbler

 I was on my way to Trustom Saturday when my friend Nicole texted me to tell me the Hermit Warbler in New London was showing. This is a bird that has been seen on and off sporadically for a week. It hadn't been seen for a few days so it wasn't on my radar. Hermit Warblers are a west coast species. Their entire range is west of the Rockies. So this poor little guy is dreadfully lost. However, being a boreal species, it will probably not die of cold or hunger. 

    I drove past Trustom and thirty three minutes later I was in New London. Nicole was kind enough to wait for me with her friends and I was on the bird very easily. It had been kind of a skulker but this day it was right out in the open. As I was driving there it spent thirty minutes on the ground which is unusually for a species that likes pines. When I got there, it was spending time in cedar trees fluttering in and out of view. My looks were great and I enjoyed the bird for quite some time while talking with Nicole and her friends.

   On Tuesday I went down the Cape to look for the Western Tanager that has been there for well over a month. Laurie and I tried for it the day I went on a Cape rarities chase. Like the day we went, Tuesday was cold and windy. The wind at the water was howling. I looked for it for an hour while my nose froze off. While I was there a guy also started looking. After I gave up I went in my car to warm up before driving. I could hear the guy playing the song of the Tanager. I watched him with his phone out until he turned a corner. 

 

Western Tanager

 A few minutes later he saw me as he walked back to his car he saw me. He walked over to me and told me he saw the Tanager. I got out of my car and asked where. He brought me to the tree he last saw it. Of course it wasn't there. No doubt it was in that tree because he played the song. None the less, I knew where it had been and it was doubtful it went far. I kept walking into the woods and coming back to that tree. On my third look I saw the Western Tanager eating berries off the cedar. It was probably in the tree the whole time but blended well. 

    That night Laurie and I went to Middleboro to look for Short Eared Owls. We saw two. I didn't get any photos because I left my memory card at home from the Tanager. Still it was an awesome sight!