ID Challenge ANSWERS!

OK! Feel good about your answers?! Click the link to see how you did!

ID Challenge #6

This sparrow was seen out in a grassy, mowed field hopping around with several other of his friends.

ID Challenge #5

This bird was seen near a large field. It retreated to a distant tree when I got to close and peaked over the top of the branch to check on me.

Bonus photo! The chest is still a little obscured, but you can see a little more streaking. So two key field marks are a streaky chest and an eye ring.

ID Challenge #4

Good Friday morning! We'll cover a couple of more unknowns today in preparation for the trip on Saturday. I'll have a final post with the answers this afternoon.

This bird was seen in a wooded edge near a meadow in a medium sized flock.

ID Challenge #3

Alright, last one for today. Another bird seen in a marshy/reedy area. Work on this one- I have another picture that can help - leave me a note if you want to see it.

ID Challenge #2

Back for more huh? Now we'll work on some of the more tricky sparrows. This was taken in a swampy/marshy area on the edge of a wooded lot.

What say you RBASers?

Bonus photo! Zoomed in of the original...

ID Challenge #1

I'm going to post a picture of a sparrow taken in the Brazos Valley in the past month or two, along with a quick description of where it was taken. From there I'll let everyone run with the informed opinions! Maybe I'll blur the picture a little, or crop out part of the bird to make it a little tricky. Or maybe I'll post one of my many bad photos :(

Either way the point of this is to not just start yelling out sparrow names, but to look at the bird, notice the specific parts and colors and stripes, and come up with an answer. They may not all be right- IDing birds from photos is a different challenge and not always as cut and dry as you might think. Anyway, enough words, bring on the birds!

Sparrow #1
Taken at the George Bush Library pond- woodland edges with a pond and a creek running behind the woods.

OK good luck!

Sparrows! Part2

Sparrows! Cont'd.

For Sparrows! Part1, See HERE

MARKINGS

So, you’re going to half to break down and learn the parts of the bird… and I don’t mean just head, legs and wings! There are some specific parts to look at when you see an LBJ in the bushes or on the ground. You’ll need to learn a few new words so we’re all talking about the same thing. These will get you started:

Crown, Supercillium, Eye-line, Eye-ring, Lore, Cheek, Mustatial Stripe, Sub-mustatial Stripe, Malar Stripe, Throat, and Chest.

In the front of every bird guide, there should be some sketches like the one below pointing out all of these same things. Live it, learn it, love it. It will make these sparrows much less problematic!

Important parts of a sparrow

Sparrows! Part1

Ok, so I know I promised some sparrow ID challenges before our adventure to Washington on the Brazos this weekend, but before I get to that, I wanted to cover some of the basics about sparrows.

Despite their reputation for being boring, drab, brown stinkers that all look the same, sparrows have a fantastic variety of earth-tones and patterns. As a matter of fact, we should be excited for sparrows!

• No one ever got warbler neck from looking at sparrows all day

• Sparrows are our hearty winter buddies- they don’t go on vacation to the tropics when the weather cools down - they come and visit us!

• Gives you a better appreciation for all of the different shades of brown

• Makes you think about patterns, not just splotches of color

• They aren’t gaudy, like warblers

• At least they aren’t gulls!

Factors to consider when looking at a little brown job:

Habitat: Where are you? In a field? Near a swamp? Your suburban backyard? Your location can help narrow down the likely suspects.

Markings: Streaky or plain chest? Eye-line? Eye-ring? Crown? Cheek color or malar stripe? Any color on the lores? What about the color of bill and legs?

Behavior: Is it foraging along the ground? Is it in a big flock? Hopping or running? Does it flush to a tree branch or brush? Or does it duck into clumps of grass after it flies?

For the purpose of this crash course, we will stick with the Central Brazos Valley and we’ll talk

primarily about the sparrows we find here in winter. I’ve omitted some of the more vexing or less

common species in favor of ones you are more likely to bump into while walking through a park

or driving through an agricultural area.

The list: Chipping, Savannah, Field, Song, Swamp, Lincoln's, White-throated, White-crowned, Vesper, and Lark