![]() ![]() I had worked so hard before (twice) without success. And interestingly this did not include a stop where the previous reporter had seen 4. At least 7 and maybe as many as 9 as I am not sure if some of the “singers” were then seen later. On my earlier visit there had been a few birds around including an unexpected Rufous Crowned Sparrow, but today there were many more and I had Bell’s Sparrows in the open and/or singing and responding to play back at several stops. I got my first photo which I include here but there were to be much better ones to come. It took a while to find it but there it was in a tall Century Plant. ![]() I almost immediately heard a Bell’s Sparrow calling uphill. This time I hit the first designated target zone around 7:30 a.m. I searched diligently and tried playback. That first visit had been for two hours starting at 10:00 a.m. However, on my first visit, I found no birds singing, none in the open and maybe one buried in deep foliage. I had excellent directions from someone who had found singing Bell’s Sparrows there a week earlier. Per my previous blog, Black Canyon Road just east and north of Ramona seemed the place to go. Thus for photos, birds singing on open perches are helpful and almost essential. It does not help that especially the Bell’s Sparrow can be difficult to get into the open in its sage/chaparral habitat where it tends to remain on the ground. Then the headaches began as it can be a challenge trying to tell the two species apart in the field. In 2013, the American Ornithological Union (AOU) split “ Sage Sparrow” into two distinct species – the Sagebrush Sparrow and Bell’s Sparrow. ![]()
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