[MASSBIRD] Dream bird

[dov...@comcast.net]

Massbirders;



I don't know if I am the only person within the birding community who has dreams about birds and birding but I tend to think not. Today (Friday, February 15th) Lois Cooper and I headed to Concord to see the LeConte's Sparrow. It a beautiful successful day that occasionally had a dreamlike quality to it. First the day itself was about as perfect as one could expect for the middle of February. Warmish, clear bright skies, no wind and bright with the sun. I had carefully mapped out our destination and as we pulled into the street where we expected to find birders and, hopefully, the LeConte's everything seemed suddenly strange. It was a short; dead end road, unpaved and rutted and definitely nothing I expected. There was a bunch of high pines near the houses that crowded close to the road and the only Sparrows we could find were a small group of House sparrows that flew down into mud puddles at the edge of the road to bathe. Something was amiss. Knowing that Pete!
r and Fay Vale had seen the LeContes Sparrow just yesterday I gave them a quick call on my cell phone. I explained to Fay what I was seeing and asked where exactly was the bird being seen. After a conversation and after she consulted Peter it was concluded that something was very wrong.

"But I am on Sunnyside Lane." I told her. There was silence from her end then she said "Sunnyside lane? She was rightly bewildered. "The bird is being seen on Shadyside Avenue." Duhh. A brain cramp of major proportions; like one of those misunderstandings straight out of a bad dream. Yesterday, when Lois and I had decided to go after this bird my mind had somehow read Shadyside as Sunnyside. I had been fooled. But what kind of town is it that would be so duplicitous to have both Sunnyside and Shadyside streets?

That settled, and with Fay's help and our atlas we quickly remedied my mistake and soon found ourselves pulling over in a line of birders cars on the right street. We first got a glimpse of the Sparrow up in some bushes but it soon dove down into the grass -- sparse grass at that -- at the side of the road. Lois and I got out of the car and walked over to where a half dozen or so birders were gathering. They were clearly viewing the bird with camera and binocular and by the trajectory of their vision I could see that they were looking into a pathetic little grass tuft at the boundary between the snow and road. This was unambiguously where the bird was. Yet like another dream sequence when Lois and I looked were saw nothing; no form nor motion; just grass. We moved in and over and still it appeared as if the others were staring intently at a phantom. Finally I saw a touch of movement and there it was. I could not believe that any bird, even one as small as this, co!
uld actually hide in such inadequate cover. It took absolutely no notice of the people around it but just foraged intently; occasionally actually digging down deeper in the grass and then popping up to the silent delight of the crowd. It was a magnificent bird; the colors standing out in the sun and it seemed to impose a thrall over everyone. I could clearly see the gray collar with the light purple streaks; something that I considered to be diagnostic for this species. All present moved slowly and spoke in whispers and refrained from sudden gestures of joy. We knew we were in a special moment and were careful to avoid breaking the spell and having Someone whisk it away.

From out of my embarrassing and unlikely events the moment emerged as a singular thing of beauty. Dreamlike at times, this was one of those indelible birding experiences. It was a life bird for Lois and only the third one I had seen in Massachusetts.



Doug Chickering

Groveland

dov...@Comcast.net

[Gregory Finnegan]

On Feb 15, 2013, at 3:11 PM, dov...@comcast.net wrote:

>
> � "But I am on Sunnyside Lane." I told her. There was silence from

> her end then she said "Sunnyside lane? She was rightly bewildered.
> "The bird is being seen on Shadyside Avenue." Duhh. A brain cramp
> of major proportions; like one of those misunderstandings straight
> out of a bad dream. Yesterday, when Lois and I had decided to go
> after this bird my mind had somehow read Shadyside as Sunnyside. I
> had been fooled. But what kind of town is it that would be so
> duplicitous to have both Sunnyside and Shadyside streets?

Based on my experiences midday today, I can strongly second Mr.
Chickering's entire post, including the mistaken wandering on
Sunnyside Lane. GOOGLEMAPS had been so straightforward I hadn't
bothered to bring my atlas, and I was puzzled that Sunnyside was LEFT
off 2A, despite my certainty GOOGLE had a right turn, and even showed
Kaveski Farm. I only figured things out when I tried to come in from
the north and in heading for Old Bedford Road noticed the Shadyside
junction. The invisibility of the bird was stunning, exactly as
described. People in the road and even a mail truck didn't faze
it. Finally a noisy jet taking off from Hanscom Field flushed it up
into a bush in the sun, allowing great views.

Greg Finnegan
Cambridge MA

[Cherrie Corey]

For future wanderers, and not to disparage Concord's street naming habits, Sunnyside Lane is actually in Lincoln.  There's a vortex that spins between the two and causes confusion all the time!  There is also an Old Bedford Road near Sunnyside (in Lincoln), not to be confused with the Old Bedford Road in Concord that's .8 miles west of Shadyside Avenue.

Happy trails and sparrow watching,

Cherrie Corey

Naturalist, educator, and photographer

Concord, MA  

978.369.4289/office, 978.760.1933/c

http://sense-of-place-concord.blogspot.com/

At 5:22 PM -0500 2/15/13, Gregory Finnegan wrote:

On Feb 15, 2013, at 3:11 PM, dov...@comcast.net wrote:

Š  "But I am on Sunnyside Lane." I told her.  There was silence from her end then she said "Sunnyside lane?  She was rightly bewildered. "The bird is being seen on Shadyside Avenue."  Duhh.  A brain cramp of major proportions; like one of those misunderstandings straight out of a bad dream.  Yesterday, when Lois and I had decided to go after this bird my mind had somehow read Shadyside as Sunnyside.  I had been fooled.  But what kind of town is it that would be so duplicitous to have both Sunnyside and Shadyside streets?

Based on my experiences midday today, I can strongly second Mr. Chickering's entire post, including the mistaken wandering on Sunnyside Lane.  GOOGLEMAPS had been so straightforward I hadn't bothered to bring my atlas, and I was puzzled that Sunnyside was LEFT off 2A, despite my certainty GOOGLE had a right turn, and even showed Kaveski Farm.   I only figured things out when I tried to come in from the north and in heading for Old Bedford Road noticed the Shadyside junction.   The invisibility of the bird was stunning, exactly as described.   People in the road and even a mail truck didn't faze it.   Finally a noisy jet taking off from Hanscom Field flushed it up into a bush in the sun, allowing great views.

Greg Finnegan
Cambridge MA

-- 

[Suzanne Sullivan]

I've dreamed about sandpipers and finding a Slaty-backed Gull! So I am
in good company! Hey I never claimed to be normal.
Suzanne Sullivan
Wilmington, Ma
swam...@verizon.net