Ammodramus Slam

  Today I had the day off for Yom Kippur, so while my wife was working out at the gym, I headed out to Rollins to look for a Red-necked Phalarope and some sparrows. In the past week, Bob Hughes, Fran Morel, and Steve Bailey have seen a number of Ammodramus sparrows. These are some of my favorite birds and definitely my favorite sparrows probably because they are so difficult to get good looks at but also because of their rich orange, yellow, and ochre colors. There are 4 species of these found in Illinois: Henslow's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, and Le Conte's Sparrow. Henslow's and Grasshopper both breed at Rollins so I have seen them a number of times this year. Nelson's and Le Conte's migrate through at the end of April and September. Nelson's is very difficult to find in spring but much more common in fall. By the time Nelson's and Le Conte's come through in the fall, though, Henslow's and Grasshopper are usually gone. I have never seen all 4 of them on the same day......until today :) I had a great time this morning watching sparrows pop up all over the place as I walked around the main pond. Nelson's were very common with 8 of them being seen. I never had great photo ops with them, however, and only managed 2 mediocre blurry shots:

                                        Nelson's Sparrow
  These sparrows love the Bidens plants which border the lower wet spots around the main pond.
  Le Conte's Sparrow has always been a difficult bird for me to find. They have this terribly frustrating habit of waiting until you almost step on them in the grasses and then fly about 3 feet and dive back in the grass. Then they run. Seriously. You see them go into the grass and think you have them, but they are nowhere to be seen. Evaporated like a whisp of smoke. Unbelievable. So today when I saw, not 1, but 2 of them sit right up for pictures, I snapped about 30 shots to make sure I got a couple of good ones.

                                         Le Conte's Sparrow
Le Conte's is similar in appearance to Nelson's, but Nelson's are grayer and more orange with a gray nape and crown stripe. Le Conte's are buffy yellow and more faded in coloration with a white crown stripe and subtle purplish streaks in the nape that you can vaguely make out in the above photo. A truly beautiful bird as is the Nelson's!
  The Grasshopper Sparrow is the one that I thought would be the toughest to find, since I haven't seen them in a while. As I was walking along the east side, though, I heard the tinkling call, and managed to pish one out of the grasses for a nice pic.

                                         Grasshopper Sparrow
The ochre color on the face, the flat forehead, and the bright eye ring are diagnostic for Grasshopper.
  The Henslow's Sparrow was, unfortunately, a heard only bird, with it's distinctive t'slick call. Would have been nice to get pics of all 4, but so goes it. My first ever Ammodramus Slam. Gotta love it.
  Another great bird for the day was the RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Only the second Rusty I've seen this year.

                                         Rusty Blackbird
Related to our more common Red-winged Blackbird, the Rusty is jet black in the summer and difficult to tell from Brewer's Blackbirds. In the fall, however, they turn the color that gives them their name. Very cool. They don't breed around here and are declining in number, so it's always good to see one.
  Another great day at My Favorite Place to Bird!