Rockwood, MI CBC "Gold" - 26 Dec 2015

I'm a lousy human being. There. Said it. I had invited a couple of people over to look for the Golden-crowned Sparrow today as part of the Rockwood, MI Christmas Bird Count. But, after not seeing it since 18 Dec I sent e-mails suggesting that today would be an exercise in futility. Construction of the new house next door had been going on all week, and the feeder birds had been scarce to non-existent. Christmas day saw little-to-no feeder activity, so why waste their time? They agreed, and decided not to make the trip. Of course, it showed up...

I started a feeder survey at 7:40 am with 16 Mourning Doves barely visible in the still dark thirty hours. Juncos soon started filtering in, and by 8 am I had a high count of 12 Dark-eyed Juncos. Northern Cardinals showed up, followed by Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse. When I spotted a White-throated Sparrow under the Bluebird Box I was hopeful that I might see the Golden-crowned Sparrow. But, try as I might, I could not find it in the brush (the GCSP had been seen each time in the company of a WTSP).

At 8:45 Robin asked me to help her to a stretching routine, so I sat in the window and read instructions from the iPad. Every few minutes I would look over my shoulder at the feeders to see what was going on. At 8:58 am I spotted a single sparrow below the sunflower feeder. Score!
Leaving her in mid-stretch, I grabbed the camera and photograhed the Golden-crowned Sparrow for almost a minute.

I then digiscoped a video of the bird as it scratched at the sunflower shells.

A couple of digiscoped stills later, the sparrow flew off. The rest of the birds flew off, and nothing would return to the feeders until late this afternoon.

The Golden-crowned Sparrow may represent a new CBC first-record for Michigan? I notified Tom Carpenter (compiler) and let him know of my finding. Now, I just have to wait to see if the Snowy Owl seen earlier this week was relocated by Jim Fowler and Co...

Brownton Abbey, 26340 Higgins Way, Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 26, 2015 7:40 AM - 9:00 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Observed birds as part of a feeder survey for the Rockwood, MI Christmas Bird Count held today. Numbers are based on maximum # individuals seen at any one time. Birds all flushed at ~ 9 am and did not return until late in day. Golden-crowned Sparrow was written up and submitted as a CBC 1st Record for Michigan(?). See blog post for additional images and story: http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2015/12/rockwood-mi-cbc-gold-26-dec-2015.html
12 species

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  16
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1     fly over bird just west of house
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  2
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  4
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  7
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  4
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  25
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)  1     This bird had not been relocated since 18 Dec 2015. It appeared just before 9 am below thistle feeder. Photographed and videotaped from back of house using Nikon D7100 / 300/2.8 VRII + 1.7TCII teleconverter, and digiscoping equipment (Zeiss 85T*Fl, 40X W eyepiece, Nikon V3, 10-30mm lens, Digidapter™). See blog post for additional images: http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2015/12/rockwood-mi-cbc-gold-26-dec-2015.html
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1     Suspected to be associating with Golden-crowned Sparrow. Adult bird.
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S26483282

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)