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Somebody tell me, please--isn't it still
winter? I thought it was. That's why I was so surprised to see a
Sage Sparrow zooming along the side of the road to Garr Ranch on Antelope Island
today. It seems a bit early for this guy to be this far north already.
This little skulker did his or her best to stay out
of sight along the shoulder and far ahead of my truck. I couldn't get closer
than about 50 feet or so before the sparrow took off mostly on the run and
sometimes, on the wing. This bird is surely related to...the
chipmunk! Both creatures' running styles are the same--tail held
high and a fast, direct, zooming pace. That zoom took the skittish sparrow
10...20...30 feet further ahead of me again. The sparrow always
zoomed into the weedy growth about a foot off the road. Then
it teased me for a while by popping in and out before it traversed the more
open gravel spots with fast and halting hops. It never stopped moving
one time, and I think I must have watched it for half an hour. We
performed this zoom-chase-zoom-together for almost a mile.
The sparrow's supraloral white dots and a slim
white line between the eyes and above the beak were very apparent. The
eye-ring appeared broken, and the broad, white, jowly-looking malar stripes
strong. The darker throat stripe below the malar appeared a little wispy
on this sparrow, and when it faced me head-on, the wisps on either side of its
throat looked like a choker-style necklace that had a broad gap above the
stickpin in the clean white breast. The gray crown and mantle led into a
faintly striped back and a brownish wash over the wings, and that tail--slim,
long, very dark--was like a flag every time I saw the zoom! zoom! zoom!
My final look at the sparrow was the best. It
ducked under the arching branches of a gray rabbitbrush plant that must have
made it feel secure. There, the bird foraged on the seed heads and
actually stayed almost still for several minutes. As it began the pattern
of fast, halting hops out into the open again, it faced me squarely and this
time, was only about 30 feet away. A passing car flushed the sparrow
and the 6:15 pm light convinced me the chase was at an end.
The area where I saw the sparrow started near the
pullout 6.8 miles south of the turnoff to Garr Ranch. The pullout is
marked with an interpretive sign that describes Springs and Wetlands. The
sparrow skulked and zoomed along the next mile or so of road to the
south. I also saw a Northern Shrike in the same area.
Kris
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