Clay-colored Sparrow in DC
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Sun, 6 Sep 98 15:01:35 EDT
A Clay-colored Sparrow continues at the Rock Creek Park Maintenance Yard
(actually, the open scrub area behind the yard proper); it was seen today
at about 9 am.
This is a first-winter bird, well marked and readily identifiable if you
can get a decent look. It has been hanging out (loosely) with some Indigo
Buntings. The bird has been seen on the north side of the yard, near an
area of small trees with dead/dying pokeweed underneath, and has been
feeding here with the buntings, It was also seen yesterday in the middle
of the area, again under pokeweed, on the big hummock of weed-covered
dirt in the middle of the open area.
It is not very confiding, tends to be the last to come out into the open
(well after the buntings fly in). So patience is needed.
This is the fifth DC record.
Gail Mackiernan
gail@umdd.umd.edu
p.s. Yesterday an adult male Mourning Warbler was seen by one lucky birder
near the little pond next to the Nature Center, at 9 am, bringing the
count of warbler species recorded at the Center yesterday to 19.