Gerry, that is the kind of post that I love to see on VABirds. Thank you for
that. I'll be sure to read Sibley's blog in the future as well.
I wish I had taken photos of the Chipping and Clay-colored Sparrows I saw in
Alexandria (side note: the Clay-colored has not been seen again). The photos
would have been very helpful as part of this discussion. In the past I have
defaulted to taking photos of birds first, then trying to carefully look at
them through binocs after. I found this to make me a rather lazy birder, as I
was able to rely on the photos to later determine whether my initial ID of the
bird was correct.
This time, I had studied Clay-coloreds (and Chippings) online and in guides for
weeks before coming across this one. That's probably why I pretty much forgot
I was carrying a camera with powerful lens which would have allowed me to get
perfect photos of the two birds, which were bouncing around a bit in the direct
sun.
I will say that the Clay-colored was the most satisfying bird I've seen in a
while. It was immensely satisfying going bit by bit on the bird and running
down my mental checklist (i.e., weak eye stripe that only extends behind the
eye).
All part of learning to be a better birder I guess.
Cheers,
Steve Hersey
Alexandria, VA
P.S. Of course if I had known just how rare sightings of them are in NOVA I
would have been darn sure to snap a few quick photos first!
