In case you haven’t been following this story … I just got an email from David Bonter at Cornell, who confirms that this is indeed an Oregon race dark-eyed junco! They will add my sighting to their list of confirmed rare birds on the Project FeederWatch site. The Oregon juncos reported there so far (in the 2007–2008 season, that is) are only as far east as Ohio, so this one is much farther away than usual. Wow! I spotted this one in my front yard just before evening on February 21. For the record, this is my first rare-bird sighting and I’m pretty excited about it!
It’s amazing one is this far east! I was eagerly awaiting the results. You’ve got sharp eyes!
Isn’t this exciting? Really, it was lucky timing and the fact that my desk looks out over the yard. I can’t help but wonder how many unusual birds would be spotted if more people worked at desks (both at home or in offices) facing windows overlooking feeders or natural/grassy areas. (Not to mention, of course, that it would be a much more civilized working environment.)
WOW!!! (delurking birder in Durham).
This is intensely cool. Good spotting!
Stew, welcome aboard! I feel like I should throw a party or something, I’m so stoked about this!
Btw, checked out your blog and am intrigued by the bacon candybar. I LOVE Vosges chocolates (courtesy of a former coworker I dubbed our “chocolate editor”) and can only imagine it’s delicious. On my “must get” list.
Great sighting! I’m sure the local birders would love to see this rare bird if it is still being seen.
Enjoy your window to the world.
Hi Dan, welcome! I’ve been watching the junco flocks since the 21st, but haven’t seen this one or any like it since. If I do, I’ll be sure to post it to the Carolinas birding list right away for folks who might want to come have a look.
I totally already posted it to the list a couple of hours ago.
Stew, I had a feeling someone did, because my traffic went through the roof. Thanks! Now let’s hope that sucker comes back to my yard so everyone can have a look.
LOL yeah, that was me. Of course I accidentally linked to MY COMMENT instead of the actual post. Oopsie. So yeah, I’ve been lurking for a while, and was looking with interest at this development.
And the bacon bar was perfection. High cocoa content for a milk-chocolate bar, and the salty smokiness was just the perfect match. I’m glad I got it as a gift, because I can’t let myself figure out where to buy them….
Oooh, let me help you out on that bacon bar:
http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/bacon_exotic_candy_bar/exotic_candy_bars
You can curse me later!
Oh, no, missy, I’m going to curse you NOW! I’m still working on a lemon pound cake I made this weekend, so no other sweets allowed.
I’m going to break your comments. Once I delurk I can’t help but just break out in overload. I love this blog, can I just tell you that? Your photos are tremendous, and I wish I worked in an area where I could look out the windows and see the fantastic birds you do. There’s not much variation in the urban area where I work . I’ve been birding vicariously. Congrats on the GBBC photo, too, btw.
Go ahead, try to break my comments, I dare ya! Thanks for the nice words about my blog and my photos, I really appreciate that. It’s nice to know I’m not entirely talking to myself here.
You’d be surprised at what you can see in an urban area. I used to work in Times Square and would often lunch in Bryant Park (adjacent to the NY Public Library). The birds in that park always surprised me. Tanagers in Midtown? Yep!
Iris,
Other than your lovely photographs, do you keep records (written) of your sightings? I notice the Oregon DEJU on the Project Feeder Watch Rare Bird List, but do not see it in the eBird data for Rockingham County. I see other entries by you for Rockingham. Did you enter any checklists while birding in Guilford?
Dan,
I’ve dabbled in eBird, but between my lax spreadsheet method and my near-daily blogging, it’s one layer too many for me. This site is actually the first consistent record I’ve ever kept, and I’m surprised how much I continue to enjoy doing it. I find blogging to be a better tool for me to remember what I saw and to notice patterns over time—and really to enjoy birding more than ever. Plus, it’s fun to share my sightings with so many people, often just minutes after I’ve taken a photo. I work online for a living, so maybe that’s why birding and listing this way appeals to me.
As you know from your contribution to GBBC, the citizen science data is a great help to scientists. I am sometimes too lazy to put my data in eBird but have it written down so if I get the urge I can always do it later. Anyone can go back as far as 1900 and enter data. It does not have to be done the same day or year.
Since you have archives, you can always go back and do it later, if you so choose.
Have fun looking out your window. Things are getting more vocal as more birds are nesting.
Congrats on such a great bird!
Thanks Vern. Pretty cool what you can see sometimes without leaving the house!