2013 Sparrow Drive, Part 1

Before we head out to our next Sparrow round-up I guess I should get the post up about the first one! Every year, we try to assist our friend Marianne Korosy in her sparrow project over a Weeki Wachee Preserve on the Gulf coast. The first one this year was held on January 19th. Maria and I arrived at dawn and helped set nets across the vast grassy areas in what was once a limestone quarry.

Once nets are set and instructions are given to the volunteers (mainly fellow birders, many of which are new to the project and wanting to see specific sparrows for the first time)some of us stand near the nets while the rest of the group moves toward sections of the nets making as much noise as possible hoping to flush any birds hiding in the grass into the nets. Recent volunteers to the Lake Lotus banding site, Greg and Becki, joined us by 'go time'.



Our first bird of the day was a Le Conte's Sparrow. Birds are placed in cloth bags and taken to Marianne as quickly as possible where she processes the data as we continue to work the grasses.



Next up, we began catching Henslow's Sparrows. We caught 4 of them today.



A Swamp Sparrow was a dded to the list but birds were few and far between today. Making things worse, the wind started blowing stronger. Nets toppled and we tried to keep them all standing but eventually gave up and concentrated on sections at a time. Soon, we captured a Sedge Wren.



One bird veered away from the nets and circled behind the group as they advanced. Clay and I decided to give chase as the day was coming to a close. We flushed the bird a few more times in different directions and we finally steered it into a net where I grabbed it before it escaped again. It was our only Grasshopper Sparrow of the day.



I took the Grasshopper Sparrow over to the group for photos. Greg and Becki added 4 Life Birds to their lists today.



Marianne and Meret Wilson, another fellow bird bander, discuss our final bird of the day, a Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler. Our day was over here at the preserve so we packed up and prepared to head home.



There were reports of several rare birds in different areas on our path home. We didn't find the Red-breasted Nuthatches other had heard on the preserve other the past few days. We headed on toward target #2 which happened to be just across the main road in a little botanical garden.

We did search for the Rufus Hummingbird but it was a no-show, too. It was fun to walk around for a bit and find some interesting things. It seemed too early for Camillias to be in bloom but they sure were.



There were a few Sulphur Butterflies visiting the butterfly garden where the hummingbird was suppose to be.



A chrysalis hung in a shrub looked about ready to spring forth a new butterfly into the world.



Teough a small garden, it seems to have a large varieties of themes. One of them was a fantasy theme where we found this castle.



Continuing our trek towards home, we stopped by Ranch Road to look for the Say's Phoebe. It did not show itself but we did find Eastern Bluebirds, American Goldfinches, and miniature horse that Maria bore a strong resemblance to a certain rock star. I just call him Jon Bon Poni...



Off to Lust Road where I hear there has n=been an Ash-throated Flycatcher. Not today. We had to settle for some other species such as an Eastern Phoebe...



...and a Vesper Sparrow which seems to be going bald. We were quickly loosing light and still had another stop to make over at Magnolia Park.



We have been invited to do a banding demonstration in March so I wanted to get a lay of the land and see if there were any good spots for nets. I headed down one trail and Maria found a Bald Eagle up in the tree tops.



Along the trial I was exploring I found a opening Moon Glory responding to the darkening day.



I think I know where I want to put the nets. Now I just have to get permission. As we head back to the car we glance back towards the lake and snap one last shot.



Long day. Missed on every new bird I was after but it was fun to round up the sparrows. We will be back there on February 9th for the final event.

The Great Backyard Bird Count for 2013 is February 15-18th.
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Sparrow Drive at Weekie Wachie

We headed out to a new spot for this sparrow round-up and thing looked like they might be a little different as far as the weather was concerned. Maybe we could have a day off of the prairie and a chance to net birds out of the punishing winds that prevail far to the wide-open south.

No such luck.

A fast moving front appeared in the past couple of days and looked to smash into us just in time for the banding opportunity. Some weather reports seemed to suggest it might keep the rains from reaching us until late in the day. Other reports fudged toward a little earlier in the day. It turned out that we got small amounts of rain throughout the entire morning.

It failed to dampen any of the volunteer spirit gathered for the day as we toiled to haul cinder blocks to anchor the net poles out in the open spaces of what was a former limestone quarry. It still looked like it could be a promising day to find some hidden sparrows.

There were no real surprises to the day's catch but we did manage to get more than enough birds to keep things busy. The only things slowing us down were some interesting terrain changes to walk through and the occasional calf-deep ponds of water hiding beneath the tall grasses.

Then the rain began and sprinkled on us for the remained of the day. A couple of highlights made up for the damp.

Definitely the right time of year for some Savannah Sparrows including this early capture.



The better birds were still come follow and, though there was a slim chance to see them, we were happily greeted by a couple of Henslow's Sparrows throughout the day.



IN the middle of the round-up we also managed a few LeConte's Sparrows. They are more rare but the habitat was good for them being near watery edges and now flooded fields. This bird was actually caught earlier in the day and released but returned to nearly the same spot and was recaptured by me just walking back to the nets.



The crowd that was there just to take photos swarmed this bird's first capture so I made this a more private moment without alerting the crowd. Besides, it was getting cold and rainy so we wanted to get it back into the wild as soon as possible.

All in all, a fun day despite the cold and rain and a nice chance to band outside the usual spots we have banded before. Still waiting for a nice calm day in a new spot in the future.