The amazing Rob Stone strikes again, locating a NELSON’S SPARROW earlier this week, on the trail near 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, just off Route17M. This is another first for Orange County. You can visit John Haas’ blog for photos and more details. In an effort to see and photograph the bird, I have spent the last three evenings searching. I had no luck at all on Wednesday. On Thursday I ran into fellow Mearns Bird Club members John and Mary (sorry, but I don’t know their last names). John successfully re-located the bird and got a good look at it. By the time I got to where he was, I could see the bird moving in the grasses but I did not get to see the bird. Ajit and Liza Antony showed up shorty after and we relocated what we presumed was the bird. Liza and I got a very brief look at the bird – enough for me to know that we were likely looking at the correct bird, but not enough for me to positively identify it. Tonight I tried my luck again but it was very windy, making it very difficult to see such a small bird moving in the grasses. I plan on giving it one more try tomorrow morning.
The birding was still very good without getting the Nelson’s Sparrow. In the pond at the end of the trail, shorebirds are still making a good showing, with one of the two Long-billed Dowitchers still present, as well as Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, and Least Sandpipers. For waterfowl I had: Canada Geese, Mallards, Green-winged Teals, Blue-winged Teals, Mute Swans, and Northern Shovelers.
