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Posted by Toe on 23:14:56 01/17/07
In Reply to: ENP - Flamingo posted by Trey Mitchell
Sorry for taking so long to post, but I've been flip-flopping on this one as well. Perhaps an account of when I first saw it might help. As we walked toward the north side of Eco Pond, I went ahead and quickly saw this troublesome little guy just past the sign. I called Trey and Rock over to see the "Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow." I hadn't seen the chest, or the streaking, or the malar. I had just seen the bird's back, but after seeing both species at Huegenot Park in November, and side-by-side, I knew this was not a Nelson's. Well, what I didn't know was that is was just not the Atlantic race of Nelson's, which is what you find in Jacksonville. Those birds have a drab gray back, just like in Sibley's. This bird had the boldly streaked back (like a Marsh Wren), so I quickly assumed Saltmarsh.
While observing the bird with Rock and Trey, I noticed the buffy chest, so I changed my call to Nelson's, but the back still bothered me, as did the streaking that, while not as bold as the Saltmarsh I saw in November, was much bolder that the Atlantic Nelson's. We had short but good looks at the bird as it did its thing, and I was convinced it was a Nelson's. The chest just had too much buff for a Saltmarsh. We did see another bird fly to the left and perch in the open that had a white chest and heavy black streaks, and both Rock and I said "Saltmarsh" simultaneously. This convinced me even more that the first bird was a Nelson's, which is why Rock posted that we had agreed on it's ID.
After seeing the photos, the various respectable posts, and my own habit of second-guessing myself, I started thinking that maybe it's a Saltmarsh. To my disgrace, I never considered the interior race of Nelson's. I know, it's Florida: never dismiss anything. Now I read Brennan's post and I think this may explain a couple of things that led to the confusion.
Here's what got me thinking:
1) This bird did NOT have the back of the Nelson's I saw in Jacksonville. Can't be a Nelson's I thought.
2) This bird had a buffy chest, not extremely, but buffier that a Saltmarsh. Can't be a Saltmarsh.
3) This bird had black streaking on the flanks, instead of the subdued gray streaks of a Nelson's. Can't be a Nelson's.
But:
The interior race of Nelson's has back pattern that resembles more that of a Saltmarsh than an Atlantic Nelson's (answers issue #1)
The interior race of Nelson's also has a buffy chest of all Nelson's (answers issue #2)
The interior race of Nelson's has darker streaking on the flanks than the Atlantic race (answers issue #3)
The conclusion to my rant: In all respect to the wonderful input provided, I think I agree with Brennan that this is an interior race Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, maybe.
Now, I invite everyone that has commented to go down there with me and we'll get both species, plus a bunch of other stuff, and put this baby to rest. I'll provide the libations afterwards.
Life is good.....finding and photographing birds that make us say "what the hell is that!"
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