I stopped by Lake Mayer on Saturday morning, Oct. 5 in hopes of relocating the Clay-colored Sparrow found yesterday by Larry Carlile. I went onto the middle island and down to the sailboat dock and walked right (east) along the bank where there were a couple of large willows and a brushy edge along the lake.
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| Clay-colored Sparrow |
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After I had been pishing along the edge, a small bird flew out of the grass and into one of the small trees in the grassy area. Bingo! The Clay-colored Sparrow. It posed in the open for a bit, before flying to the weedy edge and again posing. This was by far my best look at this species and a first for me in Chatham County.
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| Clay-colored Sparrow |
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| Clay-colored Sparrow |
As I was watching the sparrow, a Palm Warbler flew into the tree as if to say "Look at me!"
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| Palm Warbler |
Then, a Loggerhead Shrike (not the leucistic one) was perched atop another small tree both calling and singing. "What are you going on about?" I wanted to ask it. "It's not even breeding season."
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| Loggerhead Shrike |
Another fun sighting was an Anhinga sitting in the top of a feathery-foliaged tree.
Amazing what you can find in 35 minutes at Lake Mayer on a Saturday morning in October.
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| Anhinga |
