Feathers and Scales: Chasing Nearby Rarities

On the first day of my long weekend, I went to go see a Bullock's Oriole in a back yard just over an hour from my house. This same Bullock's Oriole has been coming to the same yard every winter for six years in a row now. Upon arrival, only eleven minutes of waiting produced the bird. It did just what it was expected to do: come in to the bushes and then hop over and drink from the hummingbird feeder. It did this four times before we left. It was a great way to kick off the long weekend.

Bullock's Oriole

The other bird that I was able to chase was a Harris's Sparrow which was also about an hour from my house. It was in another birder's back yard with about 200 other sparrows. The other sparrows consisted of Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows (one of which was a Gamble's sub-species), American Tree Sparrows, a few Field Sparrows, House Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. There were also many Hose Finches, American Goldfinches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, European Starlings, and one Ring-necked Pheasant.