Strides of Blue

This week's adventure takes us to the beautiful Channel Islands for some in depth study on a part of the Santa Cruz Island I had never been....Prisoner's Harbor. I'll also have some updates for people who have been thinking about visiting these amazing islands. 

I was feeling trapped inside with this terrible Tucson heat over the past several months and I very much needed something new and different to study with friends Celeste and Cheroot.  Originally, I had planned to stay in Antigua, Guatemala during my fall break for a very much needed Spanish retreat at this sanctuary in the hills, but Covid changed that plan.  Instead, within a safe 6 hour drive from Tucson, we headed to Ventura for specific wildlife studies. 

Cheroot brought his squirrels.  We brought our coolers for day lunches out on the beaches and parks. We contacted Island Packers for a mini pelagic out to Santa Cruz Island.  I was hoping for some whale and dolphin action in much needed cooler weather.  It did not disappoint.  In fact, for most of our stay, we were on the water. 

The boat ride is a little under an hour and a half.  Birds were on our itinerary but really it was all about the whales. 

Every time I've gone over to those islands, we've seen something special like a pod of Orcas, dolphins and a variety of whales. This trek would be no exception.  On this day, we observed 3 incredible Blue Whales up close. I cannot describe the excitement that we felt by seeing this incredibly large sea creature.  In fact, it's the largest mammal on the planet. 

Then there's the beauty of birding around the islands. We caught up with birder Eric Heisey below who also had similar plans to bird in the cooler temps.

It is as magical as it looks.  Complete wilderness and now free of human developments.

Once we arrived at Prisoner's Harbor we began to hike uphill onto Nature Conservancy land to study vegetation, birds, lizards and insects.  In some parts it was rather steep, but the views overlooking the island and ocean were incredible. 

 Back in 2014, Micheal and I went to camp at Scorpion's Point which was on the other side of the island. A storm a couple years back destroyed the pier and since then, the campground has been shut down.  BUT I have good news!  It will finally be opened up this November.  I highly recommend this camping trek.  It's a lot of fun and quite different from the experience at Prisoner's Harbor. 

We are birders and for Celeste, she had never seen the Island Scrub-Jay, one of the endemics only found on this island. People say that Prisoner's Harbor is the best place for this jay and it was.  We had many birds right at the entrance of the port. For me it was a better opportunity to study them up close.  Their numbers have grown over this 27 mile stretch of island.  In fact, Channel Islands National Park is a success story in conservation. 

Since our visit back in 2014, the Island Fox, yet another endemic, had a small number of reintroduced fox around Scorpion's Point. Today, this species has succeeded in repopulating Santa Cruz Island. They now number in the thousands. At one point, they almost went extinct due to predation by Golden Eagles, but thanks to great conservation plans and practices, I'm happy to report that this fox is back in business.

Celeste was hoping we'd see one so we backtracked from the tourists when they weren't around.  After our little hike up Pelican's Point, we turned around and headed to the picnic area for lunch.  The secret to finding one of these foxes?  Find stupid tourists who leave their food out.  And find vacated areas were stupid tourists were eating.  Celeste was talking to me when I noticed that one of the foxes came from out of nowhere to check out a recently vacated picnic area. The look on Celeste's face was priceless.  Yes, these foxy foxes are one of the many reasons to explore Channel Islands National Park. 

Not happy with ANY of the leftover food choices, this fox decided to find their own. 

And not too far away, a fresh meal was waiting to be found. A mouse!  Yum!

Another species that doesn't mind human food is the clever Common Raven.  Number 62, more on that in a bit, was watching a couple stupid tourists who were distracted by yellowjackets. True they could have been stung, but 62 had his eye on the turkey sandwich in the flailing male's hand.  As the yellowjackets overcame this unsuspecting tourist man, the raven took the opportunity to snatch the sandwich out of his grasp.  He brought it back to his "friend" and together they shared THEIR turkey sandwich.  And we, the birders, secretly scored the match between raven and man.  Corvid 1 Man 0

Now onto a TAGGED COMMON RAVEN!!!!  This species of bird is plentiful.  So why tag a raven?  Well, they are studying how these Common Ravens interact with the rare nesting Ashy Storm-Petrels on these islands. These Storm-Petrels already have a small population with about 10,000 in the world.  Their nesting grounds, the Channel Islands, are home to at least 50 known breeding pairs.  They are nocturnal and can be difficult to find on a nest as they choose cracks and crevices.  The pic below is not mine but it's an artist's recreation of where this secretive Storm-Petrel hangs out. 

This pic is from a trek I did several years ago during a Storm-Petrel study out along the California Coast.  Within their limited range, they are quite common, but if there ever was an oil spill, etc, it could have a devastating impact on this species. 

Unfortunately, we didn't see any storm-petrels on this trek, but I did learn about how some Common Ravens can raid these storm-petrel's nests. Hence the tagging.  I reported the tag to the banders. You can read that information here. In fact, the Channel Islands are all about restoring balance.  At one point, the Island Foxes almost went extinct due to Golden Eagles hunting them.  There had been Bald Eagles on the island but when they died from DDT poisoning, the mammal hunting Golden Eagles took over.  Today, the fish and duck hunting Bald Eagles are back on the island and the Island Foxes are back:)  It has taken years for the Nature Conservancy and National Park system to restore the balance to these islands.  And to see them today in their full glory is really quite something!

We had a successful trek out and I didn't want the day to end.  I think the California Coast is full of so many amazing wildlife opportunities. 

All good things have to come to an end, but we have one more adventure coming up....the wineries of Los Olivos and a certain magpie. 

Until next time.....

Blue Dreams

I sat thinking for a month what I wanted to do for my fall break.  Originally, I had wanted to do a spiritual retreat at a monk sanctuary in Guatemala, but that will have to wait.  October is a very special month for me.  It's the month of beginnings and reflective work.  If I couldn't lose myself to chants and birds in Antigua; I would have to think about the next spiritual place that makes me feel whole as a person.....and in the US.  Oregon and Washington were too far to drive.  But the coast of Southern California was close enough to spend some quality time with birds that I don't often get to see. 

Celeste and Cheroot joined me for the second time this year to do some very special birding in another part of Southern California.  And it wasn't just birding.  My only expectations were to find the endemic Yellow-billed Magpies and get photos of them.  Each day was meticulously crafted for maximum ocean use. We stayed in Ventura near the beach in a very questionable hotel. However, everything was within a mostly 10 minute driving distance.  

We arrived on Sunday in the early afternoon. Our Sunday and Monday rules were to have fun on the beach.  Tuesday was a trek out to the beautiful Santa Cruz Island.  Wednesday was a short drive to wine country and magpie land.  And then Thursday, we needed to get home.  It was so fast!

Perfection?  Coffee and fresh clam chowder on the beach. Or how about a misty coastal fog that blankets the beaches?  We walked the beach for miles.  Sometimes we sat and observed people.  Other times I got up close and personal with some shorebird favorites. There were so many birds along the Venturan coast.  

During our stay, we met birders who also had similar ideas about escaping the Arizona heat and it really was refreshing to bird all day long. But unlike the other birders, we weren't really chasing any new birds.  If fact, there weren't any lifers on the list.  I just needed the ocean and a magpie shot which really makes the birding stress free. 

Birds are incredible.  While we have Long-billed Curlews in Arizona, this species makes for a better observation here along the coast. 

People walked the beaches, but the birds didn't seem too concerned.  Sometimes they would just come within a foot of us if we stood or sat still.  It was here that we were able to witness a little courtship display between the curlews below.  It was very beautiful.  Their wings half raised and flutter beat at the same time in a tight formation.  

We watched these birds forage around the beach for sand crabs and fleas. There were plenty of insects as well zipping around the seaweed. 

Meanwhile Cheroot was discovering sea weed on the beach.  There were piles of them. Sometimes he'd pick a kelp branch up and run with it.  Never have I seen him so happy running along the waves.  Being that he's also blind, he was shocked when a wave went a little too far and wet his paws. I don't think he minded too much.  

In fact, much of our sightings were quality bird observations.  Often, we'd just sit and watch the birds up close. Our rare bird sighting happened in the gardens of the Channel Islands Tourist center on the beach.  There we spied a Black-and-White Warbler.  I can NEVER find them here in AZ but if I go to Ventura, I magically will find one.  This was my second rare Black-and-White Warbler in Ventura.  And I've only been to Ventura twice.  So I'm a magnet for that warbler there.  Anywhere else?  Forget about it. 

 The ocean called us.  And we listened carefully. There were seals.  There were whales and foxes and deer.  And at times, we stopped at places like a fresh produce stand where we bought a huge bag of sweet oranges for 5 dollars.  I also purchased 3 punnets of strawberries.  I also learned some new English from Celeste.  She is of course from the first age of proper English speakers.  Americans are savages in every way possible and I clearly have a limited vocabulary set. A PUNNET is the little green basket that holds strawberries and other goodies. OH! And I bought a huge bag of avocados for 5 bucks!  Anyhow, I brought my magic cooler that keeps everything nice and cold and was able to get them back home in pristine condition. I wish we had produce stands like this in Tucson!  

These kinds of stands are possible thanks in part to the hard working hispanic population in and around Ventura.  It reminded me of the markets in Mexico and it was wonderful.  

Everything was dog friendly for the most part. Sometimes, you have to return to a place to absorb the things you missed the first time. Over the next couple blogs, we'll rediscover why I love birding Ventura so much.  But we'll be visiting new locations that I had never visited before.  We'll stop at Prisoner's Harbor on Santa Cruz Island.  Several years ago we camped at Scorpion Campground.  Then we'll have some wine with a magpie outside of Ventura.  Until then, stay safe.

Las Aventuras: Arizona Sparrows

A beautiful Baird's Sparrow taken in the pristine San Rafael Grasslands near Patagonia

Continuing with Arizona birds, I thought I'd focus on sparrows today.  And only sparrows(because there are a lot of them!) This is a group of birds that will challenge beginners.  While some are easy to ID AND find, there are others that are quite the opposite:) I won't be including towhees or longspurs or those Lark Buntings:)  This is one of my favorite groups of birds and this past week was an exciting one for birders in Southern Arizona.  But more on that later.....

Today we'll look at the common and rare sparrows found in Arizona during both our summer and winter months.  Let's start with the Baird's Sparrow.  This is a secretive wintering sparrow found in the grasslands of Southern Arizona.  While it is common within its habitat range, it's a difficult bird to view due to its mousy nature in the grasses.  I spent a weekend with a group of sparrow researchers to learn about this particular species.  It was fun and very rewarding to aide in their research. Birders sometimes have difficulty separating this sparrow from the Grasshopper sparrow.

a plain Savannah Sparrow near Sonoita, AZ

In fact, a lot of people groan at sparrow ID.  But over the years, I have really come to love this group of birds and their habitat.  Another wintering sparrow in Arizona is the Savannah Sparrow.  There are many subspecies of this bird and often birders are confused at first by the majority of Savannah Sparrows found here.  Their lores aren't as yellow(or no yellow!) as their subspecies counterparts.  Look at the photo above to get a better idea. 

Grasshopper Sparrow at the Cienagas Grasslands

Also found in the same wintering grassland habitat as the Savannah and Baird's Sparrows are the Grasshopper Sparrows.  They can be secretive as well during the winter months. But during the summer months, they are much easier to spy on their breeding grounds. Arizona is home to Grasshopper Sparrows all year round.  We have a specific subspecies(Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) that lives here.  It's a bit darker than its subspecies counterparts. However, in winter, two subspecies can be found together in the grasslands making it a fun study session.

Rufous-winged Sparrow at St. Gertrudis Lane near Tubac, AZ

Sparrow ID can be challenging, but this is what makes birding a lot of fun! Understanding a sparrow by their call, movement, and knowing their habitat can help make ID'ing the bird easier. 

Rufous-winged Sparrow near Amado, AZ

Thought to be extinct many decades ago, the Rufous-winged Sparrow is a sparrow found in only a small habitat range in the Sonoran deserts of southern Arizona and the northern state of Sonora. Today, these sparrows are doing very well as their numbers appear to be growing again.  Recognizing habitat was a major factor for saving these sparrows, a plan was put into place to keep cattle grazing out of certain areas. In 1936, the species began to recover and today they can be found once again in good numbers around washes, grasslands, mesquite forests, etc. This is a sparrow that birders specifically look for here in Arizona as it cannot be found in other states around the country.  It is what we call an endemic to Arizona.

Chipping Sparrow along the DeAnza trail

Chipping Sparrows are common and widespread across the country.  Here in Arizona, Chipping Sparrows can be found all year round at the right elevation.  During the winter months, MANY Chipping Sparrows can be found around the state wherever there is water, grass and some trees:) They seem to enjoy the forest's edge. 

Black-chinned Sparrow near Mt. Ord

Black-chinned Sparrows are beautiful.  This is an easy one to ID but finding them can be difficult.  For example, trying to find one in Pima county is tricky.  They are found in a very specific habitat and elevation around places like Mt. Lemmon and Florida Canyon.  These sparrows become an easier spot up in the Phoenix area around places like Mt. Ord. When ebirding, be careful not to confuse the similarly named Black-THROATED Sparrow with Black-chinned Sparrow.  I've done that more than once:)

Lark Sparrow at Lakeside Park, Tucson, AZ

Lark Sparrows are another easy and widespread sparrow for Arizona.  During the winter months they are found in many of our hotspots in large groups.  What's cool about this bird is that it makes a buzzing fan noise that sounds like an insect. 

Rufous-crowned Sparrow at the Patagonia Rest Stop

One of the largest sparrows is the Rufous-crowned Sparrow.  It's also very common and widespread in the right areas all year round.  Sometimes from a distance, I think I am looking at a Canyon Towhee until I get closer. 

The next sparrow is a rare wintering Clay-colored Sparrow.  Now, they aren't common, but they're also not uncommon.  The bird will always be flagged on ebird.  If you have a camera, make sure you can get a pic of the cheek patch to help distinguish this bird from the similar looking Brewer's Sparrows.  It's a very subtle difference but an important one if you want to add it to your Arizona list. To make the ID even harder, the bird usually doesn't make its buzzy call like it does during the summer months.  Brewer's Sparrows at the beginning of their winter migration have fresh new plumage that can look bright like that of the Clay-colored Sparrow.  So cheek patch and divided crown are important field marks for this sparrow. 

A rare Clay-colored Sparrow at Bartlett Lake Marina, Maricopa County.  Often seen during the months of September and October passing through the area to their wintering grounds.  And sometimes one of them stays for the winter. 

The next sparrow loves desert hillsides.  It's also on most birders MUST SEE list for Arizona.  It's rather common in its habitat range BUT the habitat is tricky and usually requires a full day drive to the border.  I have taken many birders to find this species and I have to admit that it's fun but the rocky terrain is much to be desired. Common in a place called the California Gulch during the summer, ABA listers hope to see this bird in its breeding habitat on the hillsides. Now, this species does hang around all year in smaller numbers along the watering holes BUT they are trickier to find.  So for the summer trek, bring a good vehicle and lots of water!

Five-striped Sparrow in the California Gulch

Another favorite of mine is the Lincoln's Sparrow.  This sparrow has a finely streaked breast with a bit of yellow coloring around the malars to help with the ID.  It's common in Arizona all year round.  These sparrows winter in Southern Arizona around riparian areas and can be found up in places like Greer during the summer months.

Lincoln's Sparrow in Greer, AZ

These next birds are FUN!  But they can be tricky.  They are also present all year round but during the winter months, they are mousy and difficult to find. Many do migrate south, but a couple stay here. During a wet monsoon season, they are very vocal and active EVERYWHERE in the grasslands. 

Botteri's Sparrow at Empire Ranch in Pima County

The most common sparrows in the grasslands during the summer are the Botteri's, Cassin's and Grasshopper sparrows.  It's also the best time to get great observations of them. Study their calls and behaviors and you'll have NO problems.

Grasshopper Sparrow at Empire Ranch

A plain sparrow, the Brewer's Sparrow, is common and widespread along washes and farm areas.  During the winter months, they are often seen on fences near sorghum fields or dry washes with grass. 

Brewer's Sparrow on the Santa Cruz Flats

The striking and gorgeous Black-throated Sparrow is a common sparrow to the Sonoran Desert.  It's a bird that people want to see. The Black-throated Sparrow is an easy sparrow to ID and considered by many as one of the elegant ones:) It lives here year round. 

Black-throated Sparrow in Portal, AZ

A rare sparrow, the Golden-crowned Sparrow, might be found every great once and awhile mixed in a group of White-crowned Sparrows.  They aren't that common in Arizona and are indeed rare.  Even more rare than the Clay-colored Sparrows. To find them, find flocks of White-crowned Sparrows and carefully go through each and every bird. Who knows?  Maybe you'll find one. 

Golden-crowned Sparrows are rare in Arizona but with a lot of effort, a birder COULD find one. This was taken in Portland, OR

So let's head back to similar looking sparrows found in the same habitat at the same time.  If you haven't had much experience between a Botteri's or Cassin's Sparrow, they can be confusing.  It took me awhile to understand both these birds.

A Rootbeer delight!  The Botteri's Sparrow

So here's the skinny.  The Botteri's Sparrow(above) is a warm chocolaty color with a dash of lemon on the edge of their wings.  It has a ball drop call but it takes awhile to get to the ball drop:) Also, it's bill is quite large when compared to the Cassin's Sparrow.

A beautiful Cassin's Sparrow at the Cienagas Grasslands

The Cassin's Sparrow is PLAIN.  Sometimes there is a debate. Who's plainer, the Brewer's Sparrow or the Cassin's Sparrow?  And that's always an interesting conversation.  Or not:)  I find them all fascinating.  Why?  Well for one, the male Cassin's Sparrow LARKS during the monsoon season to attract a female.  See video below. 

It's flight is also unique as the wing beats are shallow and fast.  I might even say Bobolink like.

Sometimes there are sparrows that are seen everywhere and all the time.  Take for example the wintering White-crowned Sparrow.  I watched one take a bird bath at work during my lunch break.  Currently in birder discussions, this sparrow may be split into 2 species, both of which we have here.  Pay attention to the lores, Dark-lored(Mountain) and Gambel's(white). The bird below is the Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow. 

White-crowned Sparrow taking a dirt bath

With sparrows, it's all about the details.  Brewer's vs Clay-colored, juvenile White-crowned Sparrow vs juvenile Golden-crowned Sparrow, Bell's vs Sagebrush, etc.  Sparrows are tricky!  Here is the dark-lored White-crowned Sparrow below.  Can you tell the difference between the Gambel's and Dark-lored?

a dark-lored White-crowned Sparrow Will it be split?

But one sparrow that is easy to ID with its necklace is the Harris's Sparrow.  This is a rare sparrow for Arizona and it is generally seen during the winter months hanging out with.....White-crowned Sparrows:)  Or at least, it likes the same kind of habitat.  

A juvenile Harris's Sparrow at the Bosque Del Apache visitor's center

Now how about a super tricky sparrow species?  The Sage Sparrow complex.  Several years ago this species was finally split into two recognized species.  The most common of the two is the Sagebrush Sparrow found in sparse sagebrush habitat.  To be quite honest, the landscape and habitat for these two birds are not my favorite, but I did what I had to do.  

A Sagebrush Sparrow near Casa Grande, AZ

After the split happened, I attended an AZFO(Arizona Field Ornithology) meeting to learn more about these two species because I had NO idea how to ID the very similar looking Bell's Sparrow from the Sagebrush Sparrow.  It was a good conference and I quickly learned that the Bell's Sparrow has darker throat stripes(malars).  In fact, the malars are darker than their gray heads.  Furthermore, the Bell's Sparrow likes vegetation/sagebrush that is closer together.  Studies were done in both the "Thrasher Spot" near Buckeye and Robbin's Butte. They found more Bell's Sparrows in Robbin's Butte due to the close vegetation groupings.  The Thrasher spot had fewer Bell's Sparrows due to the sagebrush being spread further apart.The Sagebrush Sparrow arrives first and is the last to leave. The Bell's Sparrows generally arrive mid-November and leave early February. So the window for viewing this bird is quite narrow.  Either way, the habitat, especially at the Thrasher spot, looks like something out of a Mad Max movie. 

Bell's Sparrows at Robbin's Butte

I smile every time I hear out-of-state birders talk about our Song Sparrow.  Like the Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrows, our Song Sparrow is different.  It's more rusty red and it's a pretty common sparrow here in Southern Arizona all year.  Now in winter, we can get the other darker subspecies, but if you spot a rusty colored sparrow that looks like a Song Sparrow, you're viewing the Southwestern version of this bird. 

Song Sparrow at Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ

Now let's get into some more strange sparrows.  Swamp Sparrows can and do winter here in Arizona.  They are NOT reliable and can be VERY tricky to spot.  But somehow every year, I manage to see or hear one or two in southern Arizona.  Take for example, the Swamp Sparrow below.  While looking for other birds, this little one popped out of the reeds along Patagonia Lake for a nice observation!

Swamp Sparrow at Patagonia Lake State Park

Another sparrow that is always a treat to see (but never location reliable) is the random White-throated Sparrow.  This photo was first taken during my first year of birding. During the winter months, I was birding at Sweetwater with my friend Kathie.  I remember complaining to her about how boring the sparrows were and then I saw this one.  And she got excited.  Little did I know that I found a rare bird!  It was exciting.  First year birder me has grown so much.  Today if I met my former self, I would have slapped my face and screamed, "What's wrong with you?!!! Sparrows are cool!" The reason I said what I said? I couldn't ID them and didn't think I ever could.   

My first White-throated Sparrow at Sweetwater Wetlands

Which bring me to my first sparrow I ever found alone in the wild, the Vesper Sparrow.  Again this is a common wintering bird in the grasslands.  Its nice pink legs, complete eye ring and overall streaky appearance makes this sparrow a relatively easy one to ID.  I reached out for help and called on a friend, master birder Scott Olmstead, who helped me figure out the bird on my own by asking me the right questions.  I'm not going to lie. This bird, which is now a snap to ID, wasn't always so easy:)

Vesper's Sparrow in the grasslands near Sonoita, AZ

The Fox Sparrow is another rare wintering sparrow that ALSO may be split down the road.  Like the White-throated or Swamp Sparrows, I never expect to see one.  And then I do.  They are often found shuffling around in leaf litter like a towhee near grasses and low branches near riparian areas or watering holes. 

My only good photo of a Fox Sparrow from Santa Cruz Island, CA

Now let's talk about the mega bird of the week!  Last week was an epic one. I love sparrows so much and this is one I wasn't expecting to ever see in Arizona, but then I did.  I had to make BIG choices.  I was at work when the report of a LeConte's Sparrow came into the birding newsroom. 

Nothing gets the heart tickin' than a good ol' fashioned sparrow chase.  I paced my classroom like a caged animal.  The problem?  I didn't have my camera!  The sparrow would be a life bird and if accepted by the state record committee, it would be the 3rd time that this sparrow has been seen in Arizona.  So it was a very good bird.  My work was close to the site.  There was no time to go home and get my camera because by the time I would have returned, it would have been dark. 

This sparrow wasn't going to wait around.  There was no tomorrow. It was a lifer, state and county bird.  When a bird meets those three conditions, it's a must go NOW with or without the camera. I rigged my IPhone and binos together to get the shot below. 

IPHONE shot of a RARE LeConte's Sparrow at Dove Mountain Golf Course

It was an exciting moment.  It took us around an hour to locate the sparrow but when the sprinklers went on around the golf course something clicked inside my head.  Sparrows like to bathe in water.  And sure enough, many sparrows were coming out to bathe.  I spotted another birder on the greens who waved over to me.  We met up and soon spotted the LeConte's Sparrow.  It didn't take long before the rest of the birders showed up behind us.  And there we all witnessed a Christmas miracle happen just a few feet away from us.  The sparrow moved closer feeding just a foot away.  No one moved.  No one said a word.  Then a sprinkler went on and spooked the bird off the greens and forced the now wet birders to retreat:)

Nelson's Sparrow along the coast of Maine/this would be RARE for Arizona

Other sparrows that have been reported over time have been a Nelson's Sparrow.  This is one cool bird and it would be a MEGA for this state.  When it makes its call, the sparrow sounds like it's dropping coins in a bucket!  

A Field Sparrow in Dodgeville, WI  But for one to show up in Arizona??!!!  That would be RARE!

Field Sparrows have been reported. That would be a cool one to chase. Again, it would be a MEGA.

American Tree Sparrow at Woodland Dunes in Two Rivers, WI  This is a very rare bird for Arizona in that it should never come this far south.  But one did!

An Arizona birder that most of us know here had an American Tree Sparrow stop by his feeders.  Yeah, that's another epic sparrow. 

If you don't understand sparrows or love them, then look at the amazing places they'll take you. How breathtaking is the scenery behind these people putting up their sparrow nets?  Any day, I get to work with sparrows is a good day

During our winter sparrow count, I met birders from New Mexico for the first time.  Above Dr. Janet Ruth releases that Savannah Sparrow.  And below a young Jason, learns how to band under the leadership of Janet.  Today, he's an expert bird bander!  

If I worked with birds in a job setting, I think that I'd focus my studies on sparrows. In fact, I probably would do a thesis or graduate paper on them. Sparrow research helps us understand how "healthy" a grassland is.  Their numbers, or lack of, help us determine if a grassland region is in good or poor health. This research speaks volumes about the importance of native grasses for these birds. The more sparrow/bird diversity found in a grassland; the healthier the ecosystem. 

All sparrows today mentioned in this post are ABA countable.  And let's not forget the invasive old world sparrow.....the House Sparrow. Sure people call it a "trash bird" here in the US, but we forget that their numbers have critically declined in Europe where they once thrived in great numbers.  Just something to think about.  Never take a bird for granted because tomorrow, they could be gone forever. 

Until next time.....