Cassin's Sparrow Brooktree Road Pacific Palisades 221
W9 and I carefully wind our way from Santa Monica to Rustic Canyon. We find the exact house where this rare bird was spotted. Alejandra and Manuel are smiling, giving us a warm welcome after we pull over and park. Another couple are there watching as well. The bird was seen 20 minutes ago, but will we see it?
“There he is” one of the birders calls. I’m squinting so hard I think my face will crack and fall off. I was supposed to remember my binoculars. Using the camera viewfinder for magnification doesn’t cut it when looking for small active birds.
Again, I am touched by the patience and kindness of my fellow birders. They help me find the nondescript bird. I don’t take this for granted. But the bird is too far away. He looks like a small beige moving blob. I’d like to take a step closer but one of the birders I don’t know says “Wait. The bird will bolt.” I’m not happy but we all need to be on the same page. I have to consider the group. That Nat Geo cover shot is not going to happen today.
We introduce ourselves and find the couple to be Mary and Nick Freeman: two of our local birding heavyweights.
Nick has a spotting scope. The view is crisp. I’m looking at a new bird. A life bird.
Seeing the bird move on the ground in the shadows feeding ... watching him raise those delicate patterned and modest crest feathers.... You tell me what is more exciting: Seeing the bird in real time or after the fact on the computer monitor?
I ask who first found this bird. If I even noticed this sparrow I would assume it to be a female or juvenile something-or-other.
Bird first found by Dessi Sieburth… the 2015 ABA Young Birder of the Year. I find some articles about him and I read a few sentences to Jerry. It seems this young man found his calling at age 8.
Jerry and I think back to the time a Blue footed Booby visited our local Marina. We were climbing over the rocks beyond the Pacific Ave Bridge. We were new to bird watching. A young mother and son passed us so we asked what they had seen. We directed the questions to the mother and she turned to her preteen son. He was the one with binoculars. Very calm and focused with unexpected poise. He took a beat to compose his thoughts.
It was an unforgettable encounter.
Cassin's Sparrow Brooktree Road Pacific Palisades 221
W9 and I carefully wind our way from Santa Monica to Rustic Canyon. We find the exact house where this rare bird was spotted. Alejandra and Manuel are smiling, giving us a warm welcome after we pull over and park. Another couple are there watching as well. The bird was seen 20 minutes ago, but will we see it?
“There he is” one of the birders calls. I’m squinting so hard I think my face will crack and fall off. I was supposed to remember my binoculars. Using the camera viewfinder for magnification doesn’t cut it when looking for small active birds.
Again, I am touched by the patience and kindness of my fellow birders. They help me find the nondescript bird. I don’t take this for granted. But the bird is too far away. He looks like a small beige moving blob. I’d like to take a step closer but one of the birders I don’t know says “Wait. The bird will bolt.” I’m not happy but we all need to be on the same page. I have to consider the group. That Nat Geo cover shot is not going to happen today.
We introduce ourselves and find the couple to be Mary and Nick Freeman: two of our local birding heavyweights.
Nick has a spotting scope. The view is crisp. I’m looking at a new bird. A life bird.
Seeing the bird move on the ground in the shadows feeding ... watching him raise those delicate patterned and modest crest feathers.... You tell me what is more exciting: Seeing the bird in real time or after the fact on the computer monitor?
I ask who first found this bird. If I even noticed this sparrow I would assume it to be a female or juvenile something-or-other.
Bird first found by Dessi Sieburth… the 2015 ABA Young Birder of the Year. I find some articles about him and I read a few sentences to Jerry. It seems this young man found his calling at age 8.
Jerry and I think back to the time a Blue footed Booby visited our local Marina. We were climbing over the rocks beyond the Pacific Ave Bridge. We were new to bird watching. A young mother and son passed us so we asked what they had seen. We directed the questions to the mother and she turned to her preteen son. He was the one with binoculars. Very calm and focused with unexpected poise. He took a beat to compose his thoughts.
It was an unforgettable encounter.