Striped Sparrow (Lifebird ?) and McCown’s Longspur, Williamson County, TX, February 2015

On January 11 it was reported on the NARBA website that a Striped Sparrow had been discovered in Williamson County, TX close to Austin.  I had never heard of Striped Sparrow before, and for good reason - this was the first sighting of the species in the ABA region.  The bird is normally found in Mexico in states as close as Sonora and Chihuahua, within about 500 or 600 miles of Austin.  That wouldn’t generally be considered to be too far for a bird to wander, but the problem with Striped Sparrow is that it is non-migratory. 

Given this background there was considerable discussion on the web about whether this bird would ever be accepted by the Texas Rare Bird Committee as a countable species and a new addition to the ABA list.  Though on the other side of the coin, this species is not generally kept as a caged bird, did not have any obvious feather wear, and did not appear tame.  And certainly the fact that it was spending the winter in a flock of sparrows in the middle of nowhere sure didn’t sound much like it had just escaped captivity.

The Texas Committee had accepted other similar controversial vagrants in the past.  And the bird was apparently quite reliable, being reported almost daily feeding on a roadside with a flock of other wintering sparrows.  So with an upcoming business trip to Houston, I decided to add a vacation day to give it a try.  You know what they say – see the bird first, then wait to find out if the authorities decide to accept it.  And since it will likely be long gone by the time the Committee rules on it, you certainly can’t wait on the ruling to chase after it.

At first light I arrived at the well-described roadside spot where the Striped Sparrow had been frequenting – along CR 428 0.1 miles east of its intersection with CR 361 near the No Dumping sign.  There was already a flock of sparrows feeding on the shoulder, but it was a bit too dark to identify them.  I parked the car a short distance to the east and set up my scope to wait for a little more light.  As it got closer to sunrise I could start to pick out quite a number of Harris’ and White-crowned Sparrows, along with smaller sparrows which were especially Songs and Lincoln’s.  But no target bird.  I was still optimistic, since there was almost constant activity along the shoulder – I just needed to wait until it arrived at its identified feeding spot. 

Between 8:00 and 8:30 4 other birders arrived, which ordinarily would have been a good thing – more eyes to look for the bird.  But a couple of the birders were quite talkative, and one was especially loud.  Plus one talked the others into standing closer to the feeding spot to get a better look at the bird when it did arrive.  With all the talking I was worried that we were too close.  During this time one birder mentioned that they had been there 5 hours the previous day and had not seen the bird.  Another said it is now most likely seen near dusk.  Suddenly I wasn’t feeling too optimistic. 

Then one birder mentioned that maybe we should look back to the east a short distance since it was seen there the previous day.  I hadn’t read anything about this second spot, but I looked over there and sure enough there were about a dozen sparrows feeding there at the road’s edge.  It was 150-200 yards to the east and too far to identify the sparrows from our new location.  So I decided to walk toward that second area and give it a try.  Besides, there was no reason to have all of us looking at just the one location.  Plus I could get away from all the yacking that was going on.

Over the next hour or so the sparrows continued to come and go – I counted 10 species in total.  And there was a constant chorus of Carolina Wrens and Red-bellied Woodpeckers from the adjacent woods.  At one point I heard a Titmouse and I took a break from the sparrow watching to see what I imagined would be a Black-crested Titmouse for the first time in years.  However, it turned out to be a Tufted Titmouse – a rarity for the eBird list.  Another rarity for the area was an adult Red-headed Woodpecker that came within earshot.  A couple flyby Caracaras were nice too though not unusual – I just don’t see that one much (despite a couple tries for one in Maine this summer!). 

Another interesting reflection while scanning through the sparrows was that I probably saw more Harris’ Sparrows that day than ever before – likely 15-20 birds.  Then I realized why – although I’ve seen this species in 14 states across the country, I’ve never birded in their key wintering range in winter.

At 9:30 I finally struck paydirt.  I was back to scanning through the flock when all of a sudden, there it was – the Striped Sparrow.  No question about the ID – a large sparrow (roughly Harris’ size), wide black ear patch, white supercilium, and dark rusty cap.  I quickly got the other birders on it, and we enjoyed long views of it as it fed.  At times it would retreat with the other sparrows back to the brush, and would then reappear a couple minutes later on the shoulder.  Where had that bird been all morning?  Although the sun angle wasn’t the best, I got a number of phonescoped photos, including these passable shots. 

I had a couple more hours free before having to head back to Houston, so what to do next?.  Earlier I heard one of the birders mention that McCown’s and Chestnut-collared Longspurs had been reported nearby.  The only Longspur I had on my TX list was Lapland, so both would be targets.  With my BirdsEye app I found the locations where each species had been seen, though the McCown’s were more regular.  After a short drive I was at the edge of a dirt field where most of the McCown’s sightings had been.  There were sounds of prairie birds everywhere – singing Eastern Meadowlarks, and calling Horned Larks and American Pipits were all around me.  I started to walk into the field and quickly flushed a small flock of Western Meadowlarks – paler backs and slower wingbeats than Eastern.  A short distance away I saw a flock of Longspurs of some type landing in the field and I headed their way.  Although I didn’t refind them, I did see another closer flock of 10 birds fly by.  With my binocs I got good views of the tail patterns of the birds – they were indeed McCown’s.  Later I had a single bird fly over and land pretty close to me and got good scope views of the sitting McCown’s.  TX was my eighth state for McCown’s and covering most of its regular range – in MT, WY, ND, CO, and NE as a nester, NM and KS as a migrant, and now TX as a wintering bird (see my statebird map below).

I made a couple other stops where the Chestnut-collared had been reported but with no luck.  Though there were more Larks and Meadowlarks at each stop.  I ended the day with nearly 70 species – not bad since I spent most of the time standing in just one spot watching Sparrows.

If the Striped Sparrow is countable, it will be #744 for me in the ABA and #722 in the Lower 48.  And the Sparrow plus the Longspur would give me 419 in TX.  Although TX is my largest statelist, it is only 66% of the total TX list.  My best list as a percentage of the total for that state is NH at 89%, though my state list is just 354.

126 Statebirds and Reportable in North Dakota, May 2014, Part 2 of 2

This is the second of two posts summarizing the ND portion of my spring birding trip to the Great Plains.  See my earlier blog post for Days 1, 2 and 3 in ND, and my Montana post for Days 4, 5, and 6.

Day 6 Late PM – Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Medora

After a nearly full day of birding in MT, I rolled into Medora about dinner time, and decided to make a quick stop into Theodore Roosevelt National Park to check things out in preparation for my visit there tomorrow.  I ran into a park employee at the park headquarters who was a novice birder, and he told me about a spot for Violet-green Swallows right next to the headquarters.  I spent a few minutes there but dipped on the swallows, though added 4 new birds - singing Field Sparrows, a singing Rock Wren (surprisingly my only one for the park), a Lazuli Bunting and a Spotted Towhee.  I was now at 100 new ND species!  That pretty well fills in my map for Spotted Towhee in the western states (and as rarities in 3 eastern states).

After a quick dinner I headed over to the Medora sewage ponds where Violet-green Swallows had been reported in e-bird.  En route I heard an oriole which turned out to be a Baltimore, but it was accompanied by a Black-headed Grosbeak which would turn out to be my only one for ND.  When I got to the ponds I flushed 2 Wood Ducks – an odd location for them but a target nonetheless.  And a little later here came a Violet-green Swallow flying low over the water.  This was almost getting easy!

I then went into the park to check out the campgrounds which would be my starting point the next morning.  En route I had a couple calling Chats which were new.  I was shocked when I got to the campground – virtually every campsite was occupied and there were people everywhere.  I was planning to try for Eastern Screech Owl after dark that evening, but there were just too many campers.  And if I was going to bird this spot in the morning I would need to get there very early before many campers were awake.  All things considered it was good that I checked out this area to prepare for tomorrow morning. 

I decided to head over to the nearby stables area which also had a good riparian woodland, to see if I could get away from all campers.  There weren’t many birds there but I did find a colony of Red-headed Woodpeckers which was new.  Although adding ND to my statebird map fills in a gap in its range, I unfortunately missed it in MT earlier on this trip, and in NM last year.   

The last stop for the day was a try for Poor-will at dusk.  While waiting for it to get dark I got to see an amazing lightning show in a storm to the east.  And about 20 minutes after sunset I heard a Poorwill calling nearby.  Great to have the last bird of the day be a statebird – my 10^th of the day in ND.  I’ve now seen/heard Poorwill in a number of western states but I still need it in a number of states in its normal range.

 

Day 7 – Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Ponderosa Pines

After a short night sleep I was up before dawn and was at the national park campground at first light.  The campground and adjacent stable area was the only riparian area I had on my western ND itinerary, so these were my only possible spots for several local nesters.  Migration was virtually over by now, so the chances of finding interesting migrants were pretty slim.  I parked the car and made two complete loops walking through the campground.  In 2 hours I picked up all 4 of my targets – several Turkeys calling at dawn, 5 Bullock’s Orioles, numerous Red-eyed Vireos, and 2 singing Western Pewees.  I also had only 1 Baltimore Oriole and it was paired with a female Bullock’s.  A quick stop at the stables didn’t yield anything new.

I next took a slow ride around the park by driving the loop road.  The park was full of birds, and interestingly Black-and-white Warbler was a common singing bird in most every wooded draw.  Lark Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, and Western Meadowlarks were everywhere.  At one point on my drive a medium-sized dark bird with a long tail flew over the road right in front of me showing a reddish wing-stripe - Townsend’s Solitaire.  They are regular wintering birds in the area but not in May and not one I was expecting.  I still have a few more gaps in my statebird map for this species, though have seen it as a vagrant in 4 eastern states

A bit later I noticed some bird activity in some cedars which included 2 Mountain Bluebirds.  Another target could be checked off.  I left the park in late morning, and headed to an area to the southeast where Brewer’s Sparrows had been reported on e-bird.  I made numerous stops in these sage areas but with no luck for the sparrows.  Though I did find the first of several Loggerhead Shrikes in the area.  I’ve now seen this species throughout its present range, though alas in only 1 state in the northeast where it was formerly a nesting bird.

 
And on my last stop before getting onto the highway I had my only Sprague’s Pipit for ND – of course singing from overhead. 

My next big stop was to be the ponderosa pine area to the south, but I decided to make a short side trip to an area where Burrowing Owls, Brewer’s Sparrows, and Baird’s Sparrows had been reported last summer.  As I turned onto the dirt road I flushed 2 Gray Partridges – unlike most others I’ve seen these flew to the edge of a field and sat in the open affording good looks.  I checked several prairie dog towns but could not find any owls, though I did have several Baird’s Sparrows.  And I never found suitable sage habitat for Brewer’s.

After a short ride I was heading up to the ponderosa pines area.  Unfortunately it was mid-afternoon and pretty hot, so the birds wouldn’t likely be too active.  But I did get two key targets there – Red-breasted Nuthatch and “Audubon’s” Warbler (it will be split from “Myrtle” someday, right?)  I had 4 Yellow-rumps singing in this area, and I tracked down 2 of them - 1 Audubon’s and 1 Myrtle.  Audubon’s is the expected nester here – Myrtle is actually a rarity even though Myrtles are the common migrant north of here and throughout the state.  That gave me 10 new statebirds plus the Audubon’s for the day. 

Day 8 – Rhame Prairie

My key birding spot for the ND part of this day was the Rhame Prairie – the sole spot in ND for McCown’s Longspur.  It was about a 45-minute drive through some nice prairie to get to the spot for this small colony of McCown’s.  En route I had 4 Short-eared Owls right along the road.  And I finally got Lark Buntings – I guess this late migrant had just come into the area because they were truly everywhere although I had not yet seen them in similar habitat previously in ND.  I’ve now seen Lark Bunting throughout a big swath of the center of the country and in 2 northeast states as a vagrant.

Also en route I made a quick stop at a location called the “raptor spot” on e-bird.  When I got there I realized how it got its name – a short distance away was a set of cliffs and within just a couple minutes I had several Harriers and a Red-tail.  And then a Prairie Falcon flew from a perch on the cliff and dropped down to the prairie below.  Another target checked off. 

I arrived at the McCown’s spot and started a short walk down a two-track into a prairie dog town.  Along the way I heard 2 Baird’s Sparrows calling from the grasses to the south.  I got down into the dog town and found numerous Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Horned Larks, but no McCown’s.  But a little later I started to look a bit to the north and watched a longspur fly-by that I thought had the right tail pattern.  I headed to the area and quickly found one, and then a second, male McCown’s.  Later I found 4 males together, giving me at least 6 birds.  I never saw females but they were likely present too.  Along with the birds in MT, I’m filling in my McCowns statebird map, though need them on their wintering grounds yet.

 

I then spent quite a bit of looking for the Burrowing Owls that had been reported from the dog town in past years, but with no luck.  That gave me 3 new statebirds for the day, and a statelist of 198 – just 1 short of reportable.

The next stops were two spots where Brewer’s Sparrow had been reported.  But again I came up empty for this species.  And as I drove out of ND to start the SD part of my trip, I kept watching to no avail for Ferruginous Hawk which was one of my few remaining targets.  Less than 5 minutes after leaving ND, and no more than 2 miles from the stateline, I had a Ferruginous flying right along the road.

(see my other blog post for the SD part of my trip)

Day 9 – Afternoon and Evening in Bismarck

After leaving the Grand River National Grasslands in northwestern SD, I headed up to Bismarck to team up with local birder Clark Talkington.  As was the case with the other birders I teamed up with on this trip, Clark was an expert on the birds of his area.  I had sent him my short-list of remaining targets, and he had developed an itinerary to search for as many as time allowed.

Our first stop was at a spot where he had recently had Burrowing Owl, and we spotted one perched on a pole as soon as we arrived.  Just think of all the other spots I looked for this little owl earlier in ND with no luck.  And that was number 199 for my statelist – the old ABA reportable threshold.  Slowly filling in my statebird map for this declining species.

 

As we were pulling away a Bald Eagle flew overhead - #200.  After a brief stop overlooking the river unsuccessfully for Least Tern (my 5th failed attempt for them over my entire trip), we headed into Bismarck and a person’s backyard with a remarkable feeding station and bird houses.  With just a few tapes calls we got a White-breasted Nuthatch to come in, though we couldn’t get the local Red-bellied Woodpecker to cooperate.  The last stop in town was to the Bismarck landfill to try for Herring Gull.  There were about 75 gulls at the landfill, but no Herring.  Though the birds were in almost constant motion or frequently out of view behind piles of trash, I kept getting glimpses of a bird with a darker mantle and strong tail band.  I mentioned it to Clark saying I thought I was seeing a Lesser Black-backed Gull.  He said he was seeing this bird too.  That certainly wasn’t on my target list – ND is my 26th state for Lesser.

We then headed out to the extensive wetlands east of Bismarck with lots of potential targets.  We found a large number (thousands?) of migrant shorebirds, but nothing new.  We also found a large flock of Cattle Egrets and distant dark ibises (can’t say there wasn’t a Glossy in the flock), all part of a breeding colony.  But we couldn’t tease out a Snowy.  Though I did spot a Black-necked Stilt which is a good bird for the area.  As we headed back to town I noticed a Great-crested Flycatcher perched along the road.  My last statebird of the trip, and the sixth of the day.

I ended up with a 202 species in ND, including 126 statebirds (and 1 possible lifebird).  That gives me 204 for my ND list; and ND is my 44th state over threshold.  I never would have thought that I’d be that successful in ND.  And although I’m 5 over the reportable threshold, my somewhat arbitrary goal is to be get to 15 over the old ABA threshold to stay over that threshold for a long time to come.  So I would likely need to make a short trip to the eastern part of the state either for eastern migrants or eastern nesters to reach that higher goal.