Sparrow School

American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana

Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula

Common Raven Corvus corax

Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus

Shagbark Hickory nuts?
The placement seems odd...

  The parking areas at PN du Cap-St-Jacques were clagged up with happy families and clots of unmasked teenagers last weekend. Away from the scenic waterside vistas, there were plenty of quiet and un-Instagramable spots to be found. The birdiest patches were the shadowy trails that wound around a series of large, mostly fallow farm fields.

  These weed-choked fields were prime habitat for some of my favourites: LBJs…and boy, were the LBJs out and about! If we’re counting Juncos (Are we counting Juncos? Do we? Are we?) and the 'grand finale sparrow' that closed out the trip, nine species of sparrow were logged on the day. Welcome to Remedial Sparrow Identification School.

  At dusk, at the edge of a scrubby field near the farms on the northern bit, a sparrow was spotted that made my stomach fall into my shoes. Pale, straw-coloured, with an eye-line that joined up with the malar behind the eye to form a dark ‘U’…what the? My mind was racing, flicking through the pages of the various field guides in my mind. A pale female Rustic Bunting! Yes, it must be! Then I remembered I was not in Korea. Brewer’s Sparrow? Nope…that map isn’t right…Clay-colored Sparrow! 100% yes. And it was in no way, shape, or form a Chipping Sparrow.

  I got solid looks at it through the bins for a while before I remembered the camera slung over my shoulder. I got on it, and saw the bird filling the frame in perfect focus…for a split second. Then the clump of weeds in front was in perfect focus…followed by the clump of weeds behind the bird. Autofocus hell, I call this. When I lowered the lens to switch to manual focus (damned tiny switches), the bird flipped into a hedge-line that was quivering with other sparrows, as well as half a dozen active Yellow-rumped Warblers for added flavour, never to be seen again. We lingered long after the light had leaked over the horizon, with no re-sighting. That’s birding, eh?

  Looking at the range maps, you gotta wonder if Clay-colored Sparrows are an overlooked species at this time of year, when they are drab, not singing, and mixed in with loads of other sparrows. Anyway, without having secured a record shot, I shall meekly mumble this record out, and should couch the sighting in more uncertain terms. One must never shout CCSP in a crowded theatre. Wait, I guess there are no more crowded theatres.

PN du Cap-St-Jacques, October 11, 2020
Canada Goose-50+
Mallard-12
Cooper’s Hawk-1 harassing the RSHA
Red-shouldered Hawk-1 adult
Herring Gull-1
Downy Woodpecker-1
Hairy Woodpecker-1
Northern Flicker-1
Pileated Woodpecker-2
Eastern Phoebe-2
Blue Jay-4
American Crow-3+
Common Raven-2
Black-capped Chickadee-8
White-breasted Nuthatch-4
Red-breasted Nuthatch-1
Golden-crowned Kinglet-7+
Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5+
Hermit Thrush-1
American Robin-8+
Nashville Warbler-1
Yellow-rumped Warbler-10+
Northern Cardinal-2
Clay-colored Sparrow-1
American Tree Sparrow-4
Song Sparrow-7
Lincoln’s Sparrow-1
Swamp Sparrow-1 hopping along the trail with tail cocked
Fox Sparrow-2
White-crowned Sparrow-12+ (conservative count…they were in most fields)
White-throated Sparrow-10+
Dark-eyed Junco-8+
Purple Finch-2