Somehow in the last 40 years LBJ stopped being just the initials of some
dimwit Texan who became a president. To birders it represents a group of
small birds that we designate "Little Brown Jobs", mainly because it is a
job trying to identify them. Only a handful of Bonnie Otts in the world are
really good at it. I take exception to the quiz on my Thayer program
designated "LBJ's" because it turns out to be nothing but a run thru 28
species of sparrows. To me the term includes all the wrens, except maybe
Cactus, and several warblers and a couple of kinglets. Thrush could fit,
too, depending on where you draw the line at 'little'. Female Indigo
Buntings are the ultimate LBJ.
    Hiking around Hashawa today the term kept hopping into my head because
it seemed that practically everything I saw feel into the LBJ category.
Problem with these birds is they tend to be furtive, quick and quiet. All
you get is a glance at their back as they dash into the brush where they
disappear forever. And all you get from the glance at the back is that the
back is, well, brown. Sometimes its mottled. Yippee.
    To get a good read on LBJ's you gotta see some beak, head, throat, chest
and hopefully enough wing to tell you if there are bars involved. These
birds have taken a vow not to show that stuff if they don't have to.
    So I sorted thru lotsa LBJ's today and came up with a Winter Wren,
thousands of White-throats, a few Song, several kinglets and a couple of
birds that did the "hop up and disappear". They acted like Hermits, but I
never found where they perched and when I moved in closer I couldn't find
anything. Houdini couldn't have done a better escape. So imagine the thrill
when I found an LBJ feeding right in the middle of the path ahead of me. I
patiently stood there watching it feed with its back to me and its head
down. All I was sure of was that it had no wing bars. Then it turned and I
saw the thrushy-looking chest full of spots as it calmly walked to the side
of the trail. I was about to call it a Wood Thrush when it turned and looked
at me with that orange helmet stripe on its head. Ovenbirds fall into the
LBJ group.
    On another note, I don't mean to be promoting alien birding (that's
birding on other planets, like Pennsylvania), but if there are any beginners
out there that really need to see the elusive Red-headed Woodpecker, there
are always some hanging around Gettysburg Battlefield. This year we found
several along Confederate Ave. Much as I dread hanging around the Gray side
of the place, that's where the birds seem to be. So if you're a yank like
me, hold your nose and take a nice slow drive along Lee's old encampment and
keep yours eyes and ears peeled. The rewards are plenty of gray-headed young
of the year as well as the fully colored adults.
    In other years we found them on the Blue side. So be patient. Maybe
they'll return.
    Jerry Tarbell
    Carroll County