[birding] More on the Henslow's Sparrow at EEWilson, 15 Jan

[Joel Geier]

Thanks Doug, for posting the detailed description on this list.

I was hoping that you were able to see that level of detail, from the
views that you indicated. From my point of view, from going over the
Ammodramus references, that's enough to clinch the ID. 

I'm furthermore convinced that the bird that I saw on Friday (almost
surely the same one seen by Jay Withgott as well) had to be the same
bird. It's hard to put it in any other pigeonhole. 

So that's enough for me for the time being. If I don't get a better view
later on in the winter when that patch has quieted down, there's always
the chance that I'll make a stopover in their regular breeding habitat
some fine spring day. This is where the concept of "semi-lifers" comes
in handy -- getting a better view later on, of a species that you're
pretty sure you've seen, is as much fun as a completely new lifer.

Your closing sentence (quoted below) is worth underlining:

> Have fun out there, and try stomping through some fields this winter; you
> never know what you might kick up.

Taking and my daughter Martha and Heidi, the vole-sniffing dog, for a walk 
around the south half of the same refuge today, I noticed that there are several
other grassy patches with similar habitat structure, some larger in area. 
We detoured through a few of those. Although we had to skip a few of the more 
interesting-looking patches due to rabbit hunters, and we didn't kick up 
anything out of the grass in the other patches, there is clearly a lot of habitat
that could yield more surprises if covered on foot every winter.

I'm still puzzled how a relatively short-range, north-south migrant
could find its way out here. It doesn't fit the usual explanations for
east-west vagrants that I've heard. Jeff Gilligan compared three other
recent vagrants (Red-headed Woodpecker, Sedge Wren, and Eastern Towhee)
which are sort of similar, but all have significant populations in
Saskatchewan (so could start significantly closer to Oregon) and a
generally SE-directed migration (so less likely to head SW with the
magnetic navigation-flip idea). Anybody know of a theory that fits? Or
is this just one very confused bird?

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis