Subtle - (Chambers Lake)

It's easy to get people excited about a Bald Eagle or a a bright red Scarlet Tanager. Even a flock of migrating geese will even get the casual observer to turn their head and at least acknowledge their presence. But sometimes the "new" bird is what we birders will occasionally refer to as an LBJ (Little Brown Job). Many sparrows fit this category. On the surface they are the common little brown bird that barely gets a second thought when they visit a feeder. The Song Sparrow is such a bird. It's brown and it's small and it's ....well it's got streaks. Yeah they are brown too. Boring? Honestly...yeah, a little boring. Ironically, as I started really thinking about it. This is where things start to get interesting.

This brings me to yesterday I was chasing for a Lincoln's Sparrow. The Lincoln's sparrow is about boring little brown bird. It looks so much like the common Song Sparrow that it's often overlooked. Add the fact that it's much more shy and less common than a Song Sparrow and it's very often missed.

At this time of the year the Lincoln's passes through our area and can be reliably seen in a corner of Chambers Lake where there is brushy, weedy habitat that they enjoy. Due to family and life schedules I can't make it out there until 3:30 pm (basically the worst time of day to bird). I am staring through my binoculars for about 30 minutes looking for it and I start to wonder what's wrong with me. I'm standing here staring at a patch of weeds just so I can check off another bird. And for what? So I can try to be in the top 10 of birders in Chester county where only about 15 people take it seriously? That's like being a small fish in a small pond.

And yet...I can't stop. No, it's more than that...is it some sort of OCD quality? As I said before it's not like I can rationalize that I'm going to see some super rarity or some fantastically beautiful thing. As I continue to search I notice the familiar teal of my friend BQ pulling up. This makes me smile inside because it's always fun to bird with him and I feel less like a lunatic because I know he's chasing the Lincoln's sparrow too.

BQ immediately dispels my negative spiral. "Dude, check this out. Chester County is beautiful! Look at this light! We should do a calendar of all the spots we bird!".  BQ is extremely upbeat and optimistic all the time but I turn around and take in the scene with fresh eyes. Holy crap he's right! Sure, I still want the bird but I'm missing the simple fact that I'm outside and it's beautiful.

 Back to the sparrow.

We prowl around the edge of the lake, no luck. We head back to the car and I have to get back home shortly. About 10 minutes before I have to leave BQ spots one. I get my binoculars on it. Sometime interesting happens to me. I can really see it! Sometimes I see a bird and another birder will tell me what I'm seeing. But I can really see the subtle differences. Not just the text book comparison but I feel like I "get" the Lincoln's sparrow now. It's shy and it's back deeper in the brush than the other sparrows. It has fine, cleaner breast stripes. It has a slight peak on it's crown. I've actually seen this species before but now I know what I'm really looking at. I get it now. See below and you can see what I mean. Very subtle.

 

 

 So as I see this bird and I look at this picture I start to appreciate the subtle differences. I'm also guessing that to a Song Sparrow, a Lincoln's must look REALLY different. It's not like they have babies with each other.