Russ et al.,

I think you bring up an topic that warrants discussion, but I am uncertain
whether the infrequent feeding of the Clay-colored Sparrow does any harm.
I have not chased the sparrow myself, but as I understand it it has been
stationary for quite a few days even prior to the reported feeding and
that there is a substantial sparrow population in the area. Obviously,
there was a pre-existing sufficient food supply attracting all the
sparrows in the first place, and that is probably what has kept the
Clay-colored Sparrow there for so long. I therefore don't see any problem
with the millet feeding as long as it does not keep the bird at the
location longer than what is good for the bird (if for instanse we get
snowfall and they all become dependent on the supplementary diet.

During the Great Gray Owl invasion two winters ago, I heard numerous grim
reports in Ontario of photographers who purchased loads of pet mice and
released them in the fields to get the owls into action mode and have them
strike prey right in front of their lenses. Unacceptable behavior, I
think.

If anything I think we need to be cautious about the level of disturbance
at a location hosting a rare bird. Especially in the winter, when the
birds have elevated energy-consumption and need to spend their time
feeding undisturbed rather than flying around trying to avoid the unwanted
attention of birders. The common birds also deserve their space and should
not be flushed out of hedges or fields uneccessarily in our quest for a
single rarity.

Patience is gold

Frode Jacobsen
Baltimore, MD


> Hello Everybody,
>
> Not sure if I will start a fire storm with this one... but it may be a
> good discussion topic.  I am unsure of the appropriateness of laying out
> bird food in the field when trying to entice a specific bird such as the
> Clay-colored Sparrow.  Certainly it can be argued there are times when it
> is warranted or justified... winter stray hummingbirds for instance that
> presumably would die without an allocated food source; but this deal with
> the sparrow seems too much like hunters 'baiting' in a deer.  A few years
> back photographers in NY state used caged mice to attract a Northern Hawk
> Owl, something I believe was universally detested.  Clearly this is not
> the same category of interference (and I realize of course that we all
> leave out food in our feeders at home), but there seems to me to be a bit
> of a difference between a home-based feeder and laying out food from time
> to time when we are trying to watch a single bird.  If nothing else... the
> 'sport' of trying to attract the bird with pishing and so-forth is reduced
> a bit by using seed to attract them.  I hope I am not stepping on
> anybody's toes by sending this... rather I just wanted to throw something
> out there and see how others felt.
>
> Best birding wishes...
> Russ Kovach
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> To: 
> Sent: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 11:40 AM
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Clay-colored Sparrow Logistics
>
>
> Elaine,
>
> Yesterday Jeff Culler and I parked off the road a few feet before the
> stone
> driveway.  No one said anything to us.  I think you could park at the
> office
> building as long as you are out of the way and parking lot isn't crowded.
>
> I'd try again, be patient, and you might try spreading some millet, like I
> did.  Slow walking moved the birds.
>
> Look for a definitely smaller sparrow with a pale breast, among the many
> Song Sparrows.  It was very active so we only had quick looks.  Jeff and I
> were there over two hours before the fog began to lift, the sun came out,
> the birds became active, and Mike spotted it.
>
> You might want to ask Sean McCandless to email you his pictures, which
> should help with the id.
>
> Good luck,
> -Joe
>
> 
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Elaine Hendricks
> Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 8:38 AM
> To: 
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Clay-colored Sparrow Logistics
>
> Last Friday afternoon (January 12) I stopped by the site on Bulle Rock
> Parkway on my way home from North East, where I had
> searched for the Iceland Gull (in vain, as it turned out) that Sean
> McCandless has been seeing in the town park.  At the Clay-colored
> Sparrow site, however, I was scared off by an earth-moving machine that
> was
> working on the dirt pile alongside the erosion control
> fence.  Also, it wasn't clear to me that I could "get away with" parking
> on
> the gravel pull-off.  I briefly considered parking in the lot of
> the nearby office building but decided that might be risky, too.  And
> since
> the light was beginning to fade, and no one had reported
> seeing the bird during the week anyway...I didn't stop to try to find it.
> Now I'm kicking myself, of course, because it would be (or
> would have been) a very nice life bird for me.
>
> So, if any regular readers of MDOsprey saw the bird during the week:  Did
> you have any encounters with the construction crew?  Did
> anyone say "You can't park there" or "You're on private property?"
>
> Thanks!
>
> Elaine Hendricks
> Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)
> 
>
> --
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