Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow
Lake Chabot, Castro Valley, California, USA
January 2015
Member of the American Sparrow Family
§A Choir of Sparrows§

~true bird fact~ The Song Sparrow has a song complex enough that even skilled mimic birds, like the Northern Mockingbird can't copy him. They sing so much because this is their way of attracting mates. A male Song Sparrow's song doesn't just tell a female what a good singer he is- she uses it as a marker to determine his intelligence and ability to learn and remember, thus ensuring a strong species. Sparrows have more going on than expected.

Sensitive to a fault. Others' problems hang heavily on him
Comes off as confidant, or even cocky to acquaintances
Finds joy/peace in travel
Notices the little details



Amateurnitholog
Back in 2012, I wrote a holiday special Father's Day blog post in which I covered a family of birds that I had seen living in a drain pipe outside a Peet's Coffee (shoutout to good coffee). This was the first of my (rarely repeated) feature looking at bird homes. Yesterday I saw a bird that seemed to have made a nest inside the light of a working traffic signal and really wished I had my camera. Anyway, in that long ago post I identified the birds as "likely to be... Song Sparrows". If you're a regular reader, you can probably guess where this is going. Looking back at it now, it seems clear to me that 1) There is no indication that those were Song Sparrows 2) I don't know what those birds are and 3) I'm not going to do the research now. We apologize and retract our previous claim, dear blog reader. More interesting though, what does finding this mistake now mean? A sign of growth? An indicator of my still-amateur status? Maybe a little of everything. Your amateurnithologist, signing off.

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill
Green Cay, Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
April 2015
Member of the Spoonbill and Ibis Family
§A Bowl of Spoonbills§

~true bird fact~ Most people know that the distinctive color shared by Rosey over here and his compatriat Flamingo comes from algae in the small crustaceans they mainly eat. Sadly, his unique coloration has also made him the target of poachers. Populations declined in the 1800's, when Spoonbill wings were popularly made into fancy fans.

Likes to weird people out with counterculture behavior and appearance
Would adopt pit-bulls, make a big deal out of it
Rich mom and dad
As the world changes to be more progressive, and his enemies fewer, he finds himself a little bit lacking in purpose





Amateurnitholog (author's notes)
Well, here it is blog followers, one birding resolution well and truly accomplished! Spoonbill is totally one of the birds I was most interested in finding during my recent travels to South Florida, and boy did he deliver. He was sitting totally cooperatively on a branch right along the boardwalk trail, but as you'll all see in coming weeks, he was far from the only interesting find. Propers to Green Cay and Wakodahatchee Wetlands, which are both incredible birding spots- really nicely maintained and well-attended. When I was a kid growing up in Florida, places like this didn't really exist there. It's heartening to see Florida embracing it's natural beauty and wildlife a little more with places like these.

Also of note- I posted this as a Holiday Special bird because 1) he looks like a Star Wars alien, and today is not-real-nerd-holiday May the Fourth 2) he is a predominantly South American/Mexican bird, and tomorrow is actual-real-holiday Cinco de Mayo. This bird looks like he would enjoy cracking open a Corona, huh?

Rock Wren

Rock Wren
Death Valley, California, USA
February 2014
Member of the Wren Family
§A Flight of Wrens§

~true bird fact~ A Bird truly adapted to the desert lifestyle (and to California's deadly drought) the Rock Wren doesn't drink any water at all. He gets all the moisture he needs from his diet, which is mainly bugs and spiders. Makes me thirsty just thinking about it.

A lonesome fella
Sympathizes with the down-n-outs//drifter class (prisoners, the homeless, etc)
Out of date in his ideas and preferences. Doesn't reckon he'd like the city much, e.g.
Does what he can to help his fellow man



...

Amateurnitholog (author's notes)
I know I've been promising birds from the recent Florida trip, but for some reason today I felt like taking care of some unfinished business from another trip from a little more than a year ago. This bird was photographed on a big road trip I took all around California with two of my dearest friends who were both on their way out of the state at the time. It's a sign of progress for me when I can identify a bird now fairly easily that used to be a stumper for me. At some point in the last year, for example, I figured out that that tail is a real Wren indicator. From there it wasn't too hard to figure out Rock Wren (based on, i.e. season and landscape he appeared in). Like on every bird, I do hope I didn't get this one wrong. Regardless, it certainly felt like a less helpless, flailing process than the last time I tried to figure out what this guy was, and that's progress.