Wednesday, March 15, 2006
3. Yellow Grosbeak Part 1
Rarely in Arizona, NEVER in New Mexico!
The Yellow Grosbeak, a bird native to Mexico and Guatemala, and maybe even South America, is rare enough even in a little niche of South Eastern Arizona, and then only during the Summer. So when one was recently confirmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in the dead of Winter to boot, now that was birding news.
The Sibley Guide to Birds had the following to say: "Yellow Grosbeak, a member of genus Pheucticus, is found in oak or riparian woods. There are few confirmed records of Yellow Grosbeak from Arizona, despite many reports. As always when reporting such a rare bird, take extra care in the identification and be sure to eliminate all similar species".
The little yellow bird (two ounces in total weight and nine inches from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail) had first been seen at 805 Pueblo Solano Road NW in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque on the morning of 1 December 2005, by Ray Powell, a veterinarian, who lived there in his adobe house with lots of bird feeders and waterers.
At first it wasn't identified for the rarity it was/is, because of its poor health. The terrible state it was in was what got his and his wife's attention at first. As it got better though, The Sibley Guide to Birds was consulted by his wife, and she ID'd the bird. Verified by a New Mexico Ornithological Society onsite visit, the Yellow Grosbeak was put up on the New Mexico 'Rare Bird Alert' on 22 January 2006.
Now the fun would begin, and the crowds arrive. To quote a later Albuquerque Tribune article: "OK, you're going to have all this paparazzi in your yard. I hope you're OK with that". [Lee] Hopwood [bird store owner] said in her warning to the Powells. "You might want to keep shades down while you're dressing".
To further quote the Trib' article: "The blitz started immediately after the alert hit the internet. The first morning, a neighbor called Powell and jokingly asked if he was under surveillance by the FBI. Powell walked outside to find 15 strangers, binoculars trained on his home".
People quickly flocked (pun intended) to this quiet residential street from all over the USA, and even from Canada, to see this rare bird. Again, quoting from the Trib': "One Sunday morning there were 75 people out there. It was like a block party. They were not parked in the bushes or impeding traffic. They were a remarkable group of people".
As a beginning birder even I got to see it, and photograph it, on my second try on Sunday, 29 January 2006, sometime in the late morning. I had tried the day before late on Saturday morning, but the bird did not show itself to any of our large and disappointed crowd out on the street.
But on the same Sunday that I was there, two lady birders were also present who had driven straight through via the Interstates from Tucson since 4 AM that morning. And celebrity/expert birder Benton Basham was there, he and a friend having driven in from somewhere in Texas since 2 AM that same morning.
And all four of them were rewarded for their efforts. The Yellow Grosbeak is so rare that Benton was able to add it as his 863rd bird on his 'Life List'. And this is the man who was the first birder to break 700 birds during his 'Big Year' back in 1983. But no YGB had ever graced his life list till that Sunday.
Sadly, the little yellow bird vanished on Wednesday, 1 February 2006 from that Pueblo Solano address, and at least a few people arriving over the next few weeks missed it. Filling in the gap, the first Albuquerque Tribune newspaper article, by Melissa Birks, about it came out on Thurdsay, 16 February 2006.
But it turned out that the bird was not gone forever. According to an Albuquerque Journal article it was found again on Tuesday, 14 February 2006 at 1412 Las Lomas NE (just west of the main UNM campus) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Yellow Grosbeak, a bird native to Mexico and Guatemala, and maybe even South America, is rare enough even in a little niche of South Eastern Arizona, and then only during the Summer. So when one was recently confirmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in the dead of Winter to boot, now that was birding news.
The Sibley Guide to Birds had the following to say: "Yellow Grosbeak, a member of genus Pheucticus, is found in oak or riparian woods. There are few confirmed records of Yellow Grosbeak from Arizona, despite many reports. As always when reporting such a rare bird, take extra care in the identification and be sure to eliminate all similar species".
The little yellow bird (two ounces in total weight and nine inches from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail) had first been seen at 805 Pueblo Solano Road NW in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque on the morning of 1 December 2005, by Ray Powell, a veterinarian, who lived there in his adobe house with lots of bird feeders and waterers.
At first it wasn't identified for the rarity it was/is, because of its poor health. The terrible state it was in was what got his and his wife's attention at first. As it got better though, The Sibley Guide to Birds was consulted by his wife, and she ID'd the bird. Verified by a New Mexico Ornithological Society onsite visit, the Yellow Grosbeak was put up on the New Mexico 'Rare Bird Alert' on 22 January 2006.
Now the fun would begin, and the crowds arrive. To quote a later Albuquerque Tribune article: "OK, you're going to have all this paparazzi in your yard. I hope you're OK with that". [Lee] Hopwood [bird store owner] said in her warning to the Powells. "You might want to keep shades down while you're dressing".
To further quote the Trib' article: "The blitz started immediately after the alert hit the internet. The first morning, a neighbor called Powell and jokingly asked if he was under surveillance by the FBI. Powell walked outside to find 15 strangers, binoculars trained on his home".
People quickly flocked (pun intended) to this quiet residential street from all over the USA, and even from Canada, to see this rare bird. Again, quoting from the Trib': "One Sunday morning there were 75 people out there. It was like a block party. They were not parked in the bushes or impeding traffic. They were a remarkable group of people".
As a beginning birder even I got to see it, and photograph it, on my second try on Sunday, 29 January 2006, sometime in the late morning. I had tried the day before late on Saturday morning, but the bird did not show itself to any of our large and disappointed crowd out on the street.
But on the same Sunday that I was there, two lady birders were also present who had driven straight through via the Interstates from Tucson since 4 AM that morning. And celebrity/expert birder Benton Basham was there, he and a friend having driven in from somewhere in Texas since 2 AM that same morning.
And all four of them were rewarded for their efforts. The Yellow Grosbeak is so rare that Benton was able to add it as his 863rd bird on his 'Life List'. And this is the man who was the first birder to break 700 birds during his 'Big Year' back in 1983. But no YGB had ever graced his life list till that Sunday.
Sadly, the little yellow bird vanished on Wednesday, 1 February 2006 from that Pueblo Solano address, and at least a few people arriving over the next few weeks missed it. Filling in the gap, the first Albuquerque Tribune newspaper article, by Melissa Birks, about it came out on Thurdsay, 16 February 2006.
But it turned out that the bird was not gone forever. According to an Albuquerque Journal article it was found again on Tuesday, 14 February 2006 at 1412 Las Lomas NE (just west of the main UNM campus) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
But a different newspaper article, as well Kay Bratton's guest book she put outside for all of us to sign, both date the bird at her house from Tuesday, 21 February 2006, when/where she first spotted it while eating breakfast.
At her residence the YGB again had found food and water, thick trees and bushes, as well as another hoard of seekers drawn to another birder-friendly resident's back yard. She put out the log book for us all to sign, as well as a small cast iron wood-burning heater.
Melissa Birks second Albuquerque Tribune article followed on 9 March 2006. This time she wrote: "Today, a notebook on Bartton's outdoor table reads like the guest book at a big wedding, with signatures from Germany, British Columbia, Seattle, Florida and points in between". Add also at least Ireland and Canada to that list.
While there is no doubt as to the bird's identity, there are questions about what the heck it is doing here in New Mexico, let alone in the dead of Winter.
While there is no doubt as to the bird's identity, there are questions about what the heck it is doing here in New Mexico, let alone in the dead of Winter.
Another Trib' quote (from her first article) to liven up this post: "Nobody knows why the grosbeak graced Albuquerque. It could have been an exotic pet that escaped. It could have been blown off course while migrating and, believed to be a young male, wouldn't ask for directions".
I have been told both that there is and that there is not some "odd feather wear along with a few other odd abnormalities" that are characteristic of a caged bird. Eating from feeders sounds more like the preference of a former captive pet rather than of a wild bird used to eating say seed, berries, and insects.
I did go and try to see it again now that the weather has warmed up. It was there too, and got some better photographs of it. A 432 SLR-equivalent 12x zoom lens is awesome high tech, but still has its limitations, especially when the bird is just a little to far away.
[Can't get this program to add any photos of the Yellow Grosbeak1]
[This post begun on Wednesday, 15 March 2006, 7:17 AM MST]
