So, Jeannette ran the Maine Marathon today. While she was doing that I was WALKING at the dog, which I find to be significantly less painful. But, my visit to Dragon Field was not too eventful, unfortunately. 20+ Song Sparrows and 15+ Savannah Sparrows, along with 3 Swamp Sparrows and a somewhat tardy Bobolink were the highlights. It is October, and October means sparrow season! I’ll be spending lots of time in weedy fields and brushy patches in the upcoming weeks, that’s for sure.

But, my Maine sparrow searches will just have to wait for a week – on Monday night, Jeannette and I are leaving for a week’s vacation in Nova Scotia. Yippppeeee!!!! We’ll be taking the Cat from Bar Harbor, and exploring the southern part of the peninsula. For three days and two nights, we’ll be visiting Seal Island, in the Outer Tuskets – 20 miles off the coast of Cape Sable. We’ll be in a bunkhouse with a handful of Nova Scotia’s top birders, with no running water, no electricity (unless we turn on a generator), and no vehicles: just three days of birding, reading, and relaxing – we can’t wait!

But, back to the sparrows. Sparrowing will be in full swing by the time we get back. Searching for rarities like Clay-colored and Lark Sparrows, or just enjoying large numbers of common species, like Song Sparrows often produces other fun finds like Orange-crowned Warblers and Dickcissels.

Speaking of Dickcissels, there’s been one hanging out at the store’s feeders since Friday night! It’s actually our store’s second, but the first one (two years ago) only stuck around for a few minutes. It’s being seen on and off, traveling with the flock of resident House Sparrows (“Burger Kinglets”). It’s a spiffy (relatively for fall) adult male, and I have been trying to score the “money” shot. No luck yet – but I’ve come so darn close!

This one would of been great, IF he hadn't turned his head:

It was too dark when I tried to take this one:

And this one doesn't show his colorful front, but is a good shot of then mantle streaking at least:

So, back to sparrows. As many of you know, I love sparrows, and with a little practice, they aren’t as difficult to identify as many folks think. If you have a hankering to learn your “little brown jobs,” join me for a Sparrow Workshop that I will be conducting for Maine Audubon. On Thursday night, the 12th, we’ll be indoors studying slides. Then, we’ll take our “classroom” learning outside on Sunday morning. I'll be focusing on the "generic" approach, breaking down our choices first into genera, then into species, using a combination of field marks and gestalt. Contact Maine Audubon for more information and to register.

Jeannette in the Maine Marathon:
Smiling at the start:

Still able to crack a smile at Mile 19:

Not-so-smiley near the finish line: