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Post by Chris on Jan 15, 2011 14:22:01 GMT -8
i was travelling down the highway when gord sent me a text of a harris sparrow he found at the base of sumas mountain. it is by the gun range. take no.3 road exit and travel on north parallel and take the first right. it is by the gun range. im here now and more details to follow
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Post by Chris on Jan 15, 2011 14:54:16 GMT -8
to add to my poor directions if you travel on north parallel turn right on no.4 and then when you come to a t in the road turn right, cross the bridge and just past the gun ranger on the other side of the roadthere is a small creek with a few blackberry bushesand it was mixed in with juncos and other sparrows. ill post pics later
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Post by murraybrown on Jan 15, 2011 16:01:10 GMT -8
What a great find. Gord does it again!
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Post by Chris on Jan 15, 2011 16:48:28 GMT -8
I will fill in the details now since I am home. I was coming home from Cheam Lake and when I was around Annis Road I noticed I had a text message, it was Gord saying he saw a Harris’s Sparrow near Sumas Mountain. He let me know where it was and I was on my way! Here are the directions. It’s a lot easier to type on a computer rather than a phone. So take No.3 road exist when on the freeway and travel on North Parallel road. The first street which is No.4 take a right. You will come to a t in the road and again take a right where you will go over a bridge. Continue along this road which will be gravel. Just at the end of the rifle range across the road there is small creek which has a few blackberry bushes. The bird is here. There are hundreds of juncos in the area which make locating the bird difficult. I waited for about fifteen minutes before the Harris’s Sparrow appeared. New bird for me!! Here are a few pictures. I believe this is an adult bird but seeing as this is my first one I have little experience with this species.
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Post by wes on Jan 15, 2011 19:50:19 GMT -8
Wow, great find, Gord. Nice job on the photos, Chris. I'd love to see this bird, but I'm a little uncertain of where exactly it is. Can you please take a look at this Google map and let me know if I've got the location right? maps.google.ca/maps?q=49.083967,-122.152133&num=1&t=k&sll=49.083808,-122.152789&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&gl=ca&ie=UTF8&ll=49.083842,-122.152576&spn=0.00134,0.003393&z=19 Thanks Wes
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Post by Chris on Jan 15, 2011 20:05:27 GMT -8
Thanks Wes. I should have done this in the first place here is the map. It is not as far as what you posted. Here is the link. The gun range is on the north side and that is the large building on the picture of the map. Where the car is on the map is where I parked and that is where the bird is. Any more questions please feel free to ask. My directions aren't that good. maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=49.080029,-122.16173&daddr=&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=18&sll=49.07997,-122.16136&sspn=0.00169,0.004801&layer=t&ie=UTF8&ll=49.080061,-122.161741&spn=0.00169,0.004801&t=h&z=18
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Post by wes on Jan 15, 2011 20:28:30 GMT -8
Thanks for taking the time, Chris. I'm not familiar with the area, so I didn't know where the gun club ended. Now, if the rain stops we can get a good look at this beauty.
Wes
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Post by Gord on Jan 15, 2011 22:03:03 GMT -8
Chris, thanks for getting the word out there and really happy to hear you found it as well. Great pictures too! I would say that is an adult bird, which is the first adult Ive seen in the winter. All the others Ive seen or that have been reported have been juveniles. One from the late spring at my parent's place was almost full breeding colours. What a sight! My story. I had an errand to run in Abbotsford, but had a few minutes to look at some birds for a bit. Happily, I made a good choice to check that little area which is always crawling with sparrows and their friends. There was probably close to 150 juncos alone there. It was a very pleasant surprise when, enjoying the juncos and a couple Golden-crowned Sparrows, I got this guy into my binoculars. It sat in the blackberries for a little bit and then went out into the weedy field for a bit before returning again. The gunfire from the gun range got old quite quickly. The smaller calibre stuff was not too bad, but then someone brought out a cannon or something. The birds did not seem to mind too much though. I expect it's most noisy during the weekend. When Ive been there during the week it is usually quiet. Wes, hope you get a chance to see the bird and get some good photos of it. I would not be surprised if it sticks around there. It seems to be a popular place for sparrows which does not come as much surprise as the habitat is quite nice. Chris already got some good shots so sort of duplicating to put up mine, but I guess I will anyway. Flying in. A Song Sparrow stared me down. Did I mention there were juncos around?
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Post by wes on Jan 15, 2011 23:10:25 GMT -8
Wow, great job finding him, Gord. Your photos are beautiful, as well. I really like the eye contact on the first shot and the cool flight shot. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see it.
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Post by oldfulica on Jan 16, 2011 9:22:16 GMT -8
Nice find Gord and great map Chris. I am glad you posted it. We were at the Yellow Barn at 2;30 yesterday so you must have been there at the same time. WE drove home on North Parallel.
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Post by kenpossum on Jan 16, 2011 11:40:17 GMT -8
Thanks to both of you for allowing that dark blue Impala weaving occasionally on the wrong side of the road to pass by undented.
A rare sparrow is a great find indeed, but to a newbie like me, all sparrows look alike in the field. So, to compensate for my weak field identification skills, and more important not knowing which sparrow is rare, medium rare, or well done, I photograph them all. Then when I read about a rare sparrow find on here, I go into the hoard of pictures I took that day and hopefully make a great discovery. No luck yet, but I think the theory still is a good one for us Newbies.
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Post by oldfulica on Jan 16, 2011 19:29:09 GMT -8
I found the Harris's today at the GUN PLACE!! after searching for about 10 minutes. The rain was intermittent ."Beyondhope" and his wife arrived about the same time and we both got a few shots. Nice to meet you Rocky. I see what you mean Gord, by saying this is a great place for sparrow types.
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Post by oldfulica on Jan 16, 2011 19:30:56 GMT -8
Thanks Wes. I should have done this in the first place here is the map. It is not as far as what you posted. Here is the link. The gun range is on the north side and that is the large building on the picture of the map. Where the car is on the map is where I parked and that is where the bird is. Any more questions please feel free to ask. My directions aren't that good. maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=49.080029,-122.16173&daddr=&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=18&sll=49.07997,-122.16136&sspn=0.00169,0.004801&layer=t&ie=UTF8&ll=49.080061,-122.161741&spn=0.00169,0.004801&t=h&z=18 That map was helpful Chris.
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Post by Chris on Jan 16, 2011 21:26:38 GMT -8
Len and beyondhope I am glad you both saw it.
It's good to hear the map worked out. If anything like that happens again I'll just post a link to the map.
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Post by beyondhope on Jan 16, 2011 23:52:58 GMT -8
Yes thanks for the directions Chris & to you and your wife for being there Len! Nice meeting you in the field again.
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