BAIRD'S SPARROW!!

3 August 2021

We returned from Pennsylvania on the night of Sunday, August 1. On Monday, August 2, Chris Wood finds a two (a pair?) of Baird's Sparrows, a Cassin's Sparrow, and a Sprague's Pipit at Sharptail Ridge Open Space, Douglas County. I'm exhausted from the trip and the all night and all day drive straight back from PA. I figured out child care needs for Tuesday so I could try for these goodies. A couple friends agreed to meet me and help look for the birds. It is late in the summer and nothing sings much, so finding these birds will be tough. I figure I have to try. It's a big year! However, it's a 16 mile ride one way (not my favorite route/ride for a variety of reasons) and a 2.5-3 mile hike each direction. This is a big undertaking for a tired old guy who just wants to sleep, but also get green year birds for Joe.   

I depart at 4:52 am, riding through Chatfield State Park in the dark and twilight, arriving at Sharptail at 6:10 or so. I put my bike in a car for safe keeping, put on tennis shoes and some clothes more suited for a few hours of hiking than cycling gear :)  

The dirt road by the "Gravel Ponds" at Chatfield State Park at first light.

Myron, Bill and I depart by 6:20 with high hopes. This spring and summer has been especially wet and the park is very green and lush. If I was a Baird's Sparrow or Sprague's Pipit struggling to find suitable breeding habitat while the Northern Great Plains (their main breeding range in MT, ND, WY, SD and southern Canada) is very dry and grassland condition/structure not ideal, this is where I'd be. We run into Joey K and Steve S on their way out. They didn't find anything and had to get to work. BUMMER! That was not encouraging, but it was nice to see them. 

Incredible flowers and scenery at Sharptail Ridge.

It takes what seems like forever to get to the sparrow area. It's so quiet too. Hardly any birds singing, call notes, or even birds moving around other than some Spotted Towhees in the shrubby thickets, Chipping Sparrows working the dirt path, and a few Grasshopper Sparrows. We get to the sparrow/pipit area and watch and listen for a while. Nothing. I decide to walk around the area and more or less do transects through the grass, hoping to flush a sneaky Baird's. Eventually I flush a small Ammodramus-like (now Centronyx) sparrow with pale outer tail feathers, which gave a good Baird's-like call note as it flew by. It stayed low to the ground and dropped down real fast. This is a pretty typical behavior for Baird's. I have checked Baird's nests in Montana and this type of thing is what they do when they flush. I saw where it dropped down, but my buddies didn't see any of it as they were looking the other way. Ugh! I slowly walk to the area to try to find the bird again and my wife calls. We talk for about 7 minutes, which when you're looking for a mega rarity, seems like an hour. The bird moused away. I didn't see it again. I know it was a Baird's, but I am not comfortable calling the ID and counting it with that one look. I want to confirm the ID and I was only 98% certain on this, although I was able to eliminate all other possible species for one reason or another.

We slowly worked the area quietly for nearly an hour. I was down near a little ravine just standing still looking and listening and I heard a Baird's sing once. Again, my buddies were not close and missed it. I hear a lot of Baird's when I'm conducting Breeding Bird Surveys in eastern Montana and when helping with grad student projects that I'm involved with. With that one song, I was comfortable counting it for the year. What an incredible bird for the year list (code 5 and #244, tying my 2020 total!), but it was very unsatisfying as Myron and Bill didn't get it. And the bird was completely uncooperative, which is typical of Baird's. Others later got some great photos and they appeared to be at least mildly cooperative. It also appears there are 3 or even 4 Baird's!

I worked the whole area for the Cassin's Sparrow that Chris had singing and displaying the day before. Nothing. By this time we were getting tired and we only sort of wandered around trying to find the Sprague's Pipit. After 3.5 hours of walking around, we got back to the cars and then it hit me I have to ride home. At least it's more downhill on the way home, but there are 2 nasty hills on the dirt road that are rough and tough when you're just getting back on the bike. 

I got home without incident and my legs actually felt pretty good! I earned that bird today though. I was wiped out and I ate a lot of food! I'm very appreciative that Myron and Bill met me, brought water, and allowed me to secure my bike in a car. I really had a blast catching up with them and the moral support was priceless! The kind words about doing this for Joe were really nice. It's a long year, so this was quite inspiring and motivating. Although it was a major bummer they didn't get the Baird's, we had a nice morning. It was cloudy and cool and perfect for a long hike. Birding with friends, even when you miss the birds or don't get your friends on them, is still better than birding alone. Another memorable Green Big Year day. Joe would have LOVED it here this morning.

Some of the views from Sharptail Ridge:

                            
                                     

                          
                                               Myron and Bill are down there!

Bear poop!

eBird list for the morning.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S92717143

Totals:

Green Big Year species list: 244 (as of Aug 3)
Miles ridden: 1650 miles (as of August 3)
Elevation gain in 2021: ~74,000 ft
# of rides with a frozen water bottle and broken shifter: 1 
# of dropped water bottles at stop lights: 1
# of trips to Chatfield State Park: 21
2021 Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year Species List

Thanks for reading!

Scott