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Dec. 20, 2007 - I did a bit of birding at Grand Pre today. At Sheila and Earl Youngıs feeders at 2165 Grand Pre Rd., I did NOT see the eastern towhee, but present were 1 song sparrow, 1 white-throated sparrow, lots of goldfinches and house sparrows (check the planted cedars along the road), 6+ chickadees, 6 blue jays, 10+ mourning doves. Just to the north, at 2188 Grand Pre Rd., there was a single C. GRACKLE (presumably the same one seen occasionally by the Youngs), at least 3 REDPOLLS, etc. (goldfinches, tree sparrows, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, blue jays, mourning doves, starling(s)). Along the same main road across the dykelands, 10 horned larks with a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR. 10 pheasants and 2 bald eagles etc. on Long Island, north Grand Pre. Along the north end of Old Post Road, 10 SONG SPARROWS with 3 AM. TREE SPARROWS. At Noggins Farm Market at Greenwich, 200 starlings (nothing else with them), and 3 BALD EAGLES: the one adult eagle was dive-bombing the 2 immatures or juveniles in the air not far from the nest -- not surprising, perhaps trying to get the offspring to redistribute themselves? Dec. 21, 2007 - Besides seeing a male CARDINAL again at my feeders, for the first time I took a good close look at my presumed ³CHIPPING SPARROW² and concluded, after looking at Sibleyıs nice illustrations, that in fact it is very probably a CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW!, which would make a nice addition for our Christmas Count, since it has been here daily since before Dec. 15th. Iım going primarily on the lack of contrast between the rump and lower back, both of which are the same shade of olive-brownish. I didnıt really check out the moustache marks yet. Now I need someone like Richard Stern, Harold Forsyth, et al., to come here and patiently try to confirm my new diagnosis. The illustrations in the new Nat. Geogr. field guide seemed less useful to me. Naturally this makes me wonder how many of the good numbers of supposed chipping sparrows around here this winter are actually clay-coloured???? They all need to be checked out carefully. Cheers :-) from Jim in Wolfville, 542-9204 --------------------- Jim (James W.) Wolford 91 Wickwire Avenue Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada B4P 1W3 phone (902)542-9204 (home) fax (902)585-1059 (Acadia Univ. Biology Dept.) e-mail <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> ---------------------- ³...... the Earth .....belongs as much to those who come after us as to us; and we have no right, by anything that we do, or neglect to do, to involve them in unnecessary penalties, or to deprive them of benefits which are theirs by right.² - John Ruskin ----------------------
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