Subject: Black-throated Sparrow update
Date: Jul 12 16:46:15 1997
From: "Andy Stepniewski" - steppie at wolfenet.com


Fellow Tweets,

I've been observing 2-3 singing Black-throated Sparrows on the Rattlesnake
Hills north of Wapato since 26 June. Today (12 July), I observed the best
evidence of breeding so far this year. I noted 2 adults fly off from a
patch of bare ground where they were presumably foraging. I followed these
birds to the sagebrush where they lit. When I reached this spot, both
became very agitated-by flitting about the sage and on the ground, all the
while uttering a lisping call, not unlike that of a Sage Sparrow (a junco
like smack, note that these two species are in the same genus-Amphispiza,
so it doesn't seem surprising they would have a similar call note). One
adult sparrow ran away from me, calling excitedly, in a posture not unlike
a Killdeer feigning injury.One wing was partially open and drooped as it
shuffled along the bare ground with its breast and belly actually scraping
the dirt. I immediately left the area, not wanting to prompt these rare
birds to abandon a nest. I'll return another morning and view this spot
from a good distance and report on my findings.

Lark Sparrow males were singing away-is this a sign a second brood is on
the way? The first fledged three weeks ago.

Grasshopper Sparrows were still singing, too, though these birds so far
have kept their home life secret on these hills.

I also saw two juvenile Bullock's Orioles calling from a sagebrush and then
fly off to the south 15 meters above the sagelands and disappear. So, not
only have the shorebirds and Rufous Hummingbirds started migrating, but
some of the Neotropical migrants. Ah well, time seems to wind up quicker
and quicker. Is this a sign of getting older?

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato, WA