Lucky Encounter

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Tammie Rogers

Earlier this month, on one of the only sunny days, I saw a little bird perched in a scrub tree as I entered the upper pond lookout. I wasn’t sure if it was “just” a Song Sparrow. There are a lot of those birds around, but they are not always easy to film.

Unaware of the bird’s identification, I began to shoot. It was a challenge because the bird was behind branches and the auto-focus was choosing twigs over wings. I knew that if I could get closer I might be able to get a good view. But, that was a precarious situation. Moving towards a wee bird typically caused it to fly away. I tried, any way. It worked. I was able to get into position that exposed the pretty face of the cute bird that seemed to be begging me to get a good shot!

When I returned back to my office and downloaded the images, I realized that I had filmed a Savannah Sparrow. This species has a strange range map that excludes a small part of the country (in which I reside) from both the summer breeding and the winter residence zones. I pulled the following diagram off of AllAboutBirds The yellow zone is both where I live and the migration area for the Savannah Sparrow. That means the species probably spends very little time here. I’m going to say I feel lucky for having photographed a Savannah Sparrow in my backyard.