Sparrow Hunting

Yesterday I went birding with a very specific bird in mind that I wanted to see--the Fox Sparrow. I spent most of the morning walking the land at Tejas Camp that was off the beaten path with no luck on the hunted bird. I did see a ton of other birds though, including a record number Spotted Towhees.

As you can see, Tejas Camps is beautiful on a Fall morning (that would be a summer morning for you non-Texas folks). Along the creek there were cottonwoods with the expected winter American Goldfinches, and a lone Crested Caracara flew silently overhead.
Toward noon, I had almost abandoned my search for the Fox Sparrow and at the last minute decided to take the more manicured trail near the campsites and along the river. Withing a hundred feet, I heard the scratching on the ground in the dense brush and knew they were there. Sure enough, a pair of Fox Sparrows appeared through a somewhat clear section of the low, tangled branches. I watched their signature scratching for a moment and then chased a couple more down the trail. Soon, I had walked about a mile and kept delaying my turn back around by another sparrow. By the time got back to the car I seen 9 different species of Emberizids.