330. Clay-colored Sparrow

Date         July 4, 2021

Location    Harrington Beach State Park, Belgium, WI

This one was very satisfying because it totally wasn't on my radar until I did some last-minute intelligence gathering the night before visiting Horicon.

It's often suggested, in a variety of contexts, to talk to the locals to get good information. This was something I had failed to do before the Phoenix trip back in 2007, my first real "offsite" trip. It cost me the opportunity to get to a place that was supposed to have Vermillion Flycatchers. The consolation was that I went to an alternate location and still got two new birds that morning.

In this case, I decided to watch a YouTube video the night before Horicon. It was a presentation of the history and layout of Horicon marsh and what birds could be seen there. He mentioned Clay-colored Sparrows, which I had sort of tucked away in my mind as a western bird. It's really more of a northern/Great Plains bird, but always west of where I lived.

After watching the video, I decided to look up his song, since this was a species not featured in any of the Birding by Ear CD's. I was frankly not too hopeful, as there are so many species of sparrow and they often have songs that are basically a variation of a Song Sparrow. I was glad to hear that his guy has a pretty unique-sounding song -- just a simple, loud, buzz. I figured I could identify that in the field.

After arriving at the state park to camp for the night, we walked to the beach, which was about a mile away through a delightfully diverse set of habitats. I could hear Eastern Meadowlark one minute, a Wood Thrush the next, and a Green Heron the next.

On the way back near Puckett's Pond, I heard the buzzy song. Almost always, when I hear a new song for the first time in the field, I doubt myself a little bit because I want to avoid wishful thinking. So I scrambled to get a look at him. He was on a bare branch nearby, but very backlit. The look was, to say the least, not diagnostic (other than the fact that it looked like a sparrow), but the song was.

I did see and hear one the following day near the same location (perhaps the same one). This time he was fairly distant instead of backlit, so still not diagnostic, but the song again saved the day. Of course, he's about the LBJ-est of LBJ's!

Range maps will show that this state park is located at the extreme southern edge of its range. This adds to the satisfaction; I can't get this guy at home unless I'm lucky enough to find him in migration.

Cornell: Clay-colored Sparrow

329. Virginia Rail

Date         July 3, 2021

Location    Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Horicon, WI

I was walking on a boardwalk trail, attached to the driving route near the Marsh Haven Nature Center, when I heard a brief iteration of the grunt-squeak "song." I got fairly close to the location of the sound and played it back to him from my Audubon app on my phone. A moment later he answered it, again very briefly (like two grunts worth), and I was able to focus in on where he was.

Of course he was very hidden, but I did manage to get a very small peek of his behind as he skulked through the dense marsh foliage. I waited a few moments to see if I could get a better look, but it never came. I walked along and got some great views of Soras, who were also chirping. As I walked back, I heard the grunting calls again, this time a slightly longer rendition.

I now have all of the "easy" rails -- all the ABA 1's. Black, Yellow, and the recently split Ridgeway's are left, and all are ABA 2. It may be a while . . .

Cornell: Virginia Rail

328. Black Tern

Date         July 3, 2021

Location    Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area, Horicon, WI

The black tern was a species I expected to get on my trip to Bear River refuge in Utah a few years back, and I thought I might have seen one while I was driving out, but it was flying off before I even had a chance to stop and get a better look. So it was nice to finally check this one off.

These birds are quite abundant at this location. In fact, it might be the most abundant bird in the strictly marshy areas, so I was seeing them and listening to their squeaky cries all day.

327. Virginia's Warbler

Date         June 12, 2021

Location    Bryce Canyon National Park (Mossy Cave Trail), UT

I heard a song that was vaguely reminiscent of a Wilson's Warbler, so I stayed back while the others walked ahead to the waterfall. I didn't get a great look, but I definitely noticed the yellow undertail coverts -- which I figured would be a clincher -- and a nice white eye ring and the rest was basically gray. The song, field marks, and range all fit this species. QED.

Cornell: Virginia's Warbler

326. Steller's Jay

Date         June 12, 2021

Location    Bryce Canyon National Park (Navajo Trail), UT

We arrived at essentially the bottom of the trail, and we sat down to take a short break. I informed Kevin and Mieka that I had heard something unfamiliar and was going to check it out.

Down from the trail a bit I tracked the chattering sound to a pine tree. Another man was there as well, looking at the tree. He suggested that it was maybe a Pinyon Jay. I got a fairly good look at it -- good enough to ID it, but not a great look since it was in the shadows of the tree limbs -- and looked in my field guide. It was then that I realized that it was a Steller's Jay, not Pinyon, and the man agreed with me. He was visiting from Wyoming.

The jay later moved over to where we were resting, and Mieka got some pictures, but they were without the telephoto lens, so they were basically useless unfortunately.

Cornell: Steller's Jay

325. White-throated Swift

Date         June 12, 2021

Location    Bryce Canyon National Park (Navajo Trail), UT

For a while I thought I was seeing strange-looking swallows flying over the hoodoos, but then I heard their scratchy, descending calls and the light bulb went on. The white throats (and bellies, and sides -- I mean, there's a lot of white going on here compared to White-throated Sparrows) confirmed the identification.

Cornell: White-throated Swift

324. Townsend's Solitaire

Date         June 11, 2021

Location    Bryce Canyon National Park (Inspiration Point), UT

After admiring the view of the hoodoo amphitheater for a bit, I heard an energetic warbling song that I didn't recognize. I saw two birds flitting through the branches of the nearby pine trees. I had to pursue them down the Rim Trail a bit, but I eventually got a decent look at them. The white eye ring was helpful in identification (as was the song, ex post facto). I never saw the buffy wing patches since they were moving so fast and in amongst the shadows of the evergreen branches, but I don't think that's uncommon; even in the picture above, they are barely noticeable.

Cornell: Townsend's Solitaire

323. Lark Sparrow

Date         May 31, 2021

Location    Nachusa Grasslands (Stone Barn Savanna trail), Dixon, IL

Mieka and I were walking along the prairie section of the trail when she said "What's that on the trail?" To this point in this walk, we often saw robins on the trail ahead of us. But this time it didn't look right for a robin. So I paused and looked up ahead on the trail through my binoculars and saw the tell-tale harlequin pattern on the face. We saw him again on the way back. (It was only then that I was able to see the breast spot; to that point, he stubbornly kept his back turned toward us.)

Actual pictures this time since she had her camera! Yay! The picture above isn't the best of the bunch, but it was the moment I first saw him. Then there's a picture of him flying up to a nearby branch, then him on the branch.

It will be hard to forget this one! This was another "target" bird for Rockford. We had already hunted for this species in another location near us where it had been reported, earlier in the spring. We came up empty.

Cornell: Lark Sparrow

322. Mourning Warbler

 Date         May 22, 2021

Location    Big Marsh Park, Chicago, IL

Toward the end of my walk, heading back to my car and my appointment with Pullman National Monument, I spied something moving about in a large tangle of branches and shrubs to my right. He darted in and out of view and sang a few times, giving a nice confirmation. This was one of my "target" birds that I listed after moving to Rockford, IL -- it seemed from the range maps that I was more likely to see this one here than farther east in Ohio and PA. I was right!

Cornell: Mourning Warbler

321. Alder Flycatcher

Date         May 22, 2021

Location    Big Marsh Park, Chicago, IL

I had long since acquired 3 of the 4 eastern empids (Least, Acadian, and Willow), and there were a couple of times when I heard a Willow *yet again* and wishful thinking turned it into an Alder. So I was cautious when I heard this song. I double-checked the song on my phone. Yes, this time it was an Alder.

The song became rather ubiquitous for the next hour or so. There were plenty at this site. I didn't actually see one until the end of the walk, when I had come back to close to the original spot where I first heard the song. Of course, as far as I could tell, it could've been any of the empids, but since this was the only one I heard . . . In any case, the song was the clincher, not the sighting.

Cornell: Alder Flycatcher

320. Piping Plover

Date         May 1, 2021

Location    Montrose Beach, Chicago, IL

Go on May 1st, they said. They might be there by then. There's a section of the beach fenced off just for them where they can nest. Try there.

Well, I showed up early in the morning on May 1 and after doing a little birding in the woods, headed to the beach. It took a moment, but there they were, a pair, running around on the sand like Killdeer. Single band and light color were diagnostic.

Sometimes it works out that well. Usually it doesn't.

Cornell: Piping Plover

319. American Bittern

Date         April 24, 2021

Location    Wilkinson-Renwick Marsh Nature Preserve, De Kalb county, IL

As I stated in the entry for #320, the whole reason for coming to this preserve was to try to get this species. I was fairly confident that I would eventually get it after talking to Joe, but I had been birding for over an hour and was headed back to my car, thinking it would have to be another day.

While I take credit for walking slowly and attentively, he still alluded me. I saw him as he flushed from just off the side of the path on the right (walking toward the parking lot) in the last area of water before getting to higher ground and the old train station. He flew into the sea of reeds and of course vanished from sight.

So I could have had a better look, but I at least did see him flying off. You usually  don't see them at all, just hear them. (See my entry for Least Bittern #228)

Cornell: American Bittern

318. Sora

Date         April 24, 2021

Location    Wilkinson-Renwick Marsh Nature Preserve, De Kalb county, IL

I arrived about an hour after sunrise on a cool Saturday morning and headed up the path. A little before the viewing platform on the left, I heard a brief whinny from further on up the path. It wasn't much, but I had recently studied his song, so I was pretty sure it was a Sora. An interpretive sign listed this species as a breeder there.

About a half hour later I was talking to another birder who was very familiar with the site and I mentioned that I thought I had heard a Sora earlier. We continued to talk, and about 10 minutes later we both heard the same whinny call. He said that that usually got the others started, but it remained silent.

Cornell: Sora

317. Swamp Sparrow

 Date         April 21, 2021

Location    Wilkinson-Renwick Marsh Nature Preserve, De Kalb county, IL

I received a notification that an American Bittern had been spotted at this site, and seeing as it wasn't too far from my home (about 30 minutes drive time), I decided to go check it out.

The place is a relatively small preserve surrounded by farmland, like an oasis in a desert. One of the several interpretive signs there explained that settlers were unable to drain the area for farming, so they just left it. It later was the site of a train station. You can see the ruins of the station. The walking path itself is simply a straight path with swamp on either side -- i.e. the remnants of a straight train track. There is one grassy path to the right a short distance from the parking area. This is where I first saw this species.

I was looking down to the left of the path and noticed a sparrow in the swampy area. At first I thought, what's a Chipping Sparrow doing down there? The habitat didn't fit, you see. It then dawned on me that this didn't look precisely like a Chipping Sparrow -- some similarities, yes, but definitely different. I realized that it was a Swamp Sparrow and that the habitat did indeed fit quite well.

While I didn't hear the song on this evening, I visited again a few days later and heard and saw lots of these.

Cornell: Swamp Sparrow

316. Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Date         April 2, 2021

Location    Emiquon Preserve, Lewistown, IL

Over by the office at the south end of the parking lot, I saw some movement in one of the trees across the entrance road. I saw a Tree Swallow and this sparrow, very obvious with the dark cheek patch. The rusty cap was also distinctive.

The sparrow appeared to enter into a cavity of the tree while the swallow sat there watching. I wonder if the sparrow was ejecting the swallow from the nest site, or maybe the swallow was contemplating the same?

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

315. Greater White-fronted Goose

Date        April 2, 2021

Location   Emiquon Preserve, Lewistown, IL

Several large flocks in loose formation flew over from the west to the east as I stood on the west shore looking east at the water. I heard a bunch of unfamiliar calls, which were like Canada Geese but higher in pitch. I was able to get a good enough look at them flying over, and I confirmed the sound with my birding app on my phone.

Greater White-fronted Goose