Thanks Alyssa. Just to clarify, I did not find these birds; a homeowner adjacent to the park (Daniel Troumbly) observed these birds in his yard, heard them vocalize, and strongly suspected them to be ABTOs but knew that would be extremely unusual. He shared a photo locally, which a friend sent to me yesterday. I was unfamiliar with the species but completely dismissed it as implausible! My friend urged me to check it out anyway, so I did. Daniel was very welcoming, and upon seeing the birds firsthand, it was obvious they were ABTOs by marks and vocalizations, but I still didn't *believe* it. I told Daniel I'd like to share the sighting and made sure he was aware that it would attract a lot of attention and visitors. He was fine with this and conveniently lives next to a public park. He said it would be great for more birders to document the occurrence. I posted his original photo plus two that I took through my binoculars to the Minnesota County Listers FB group to get opinions because the sighting was just so 'out there'. When the post immediately blew up with notifications, I got info out as quickly as I could.
Long story short, I did not find or identify the birds--Daniel Troumbly did. In fact, I foolishly assumed from the original photo that it absolutely *had* to be something else more plausible. (I mean--a pair of ABTOs in north-central MN?!?!?) Lesson learned! Either way--thanks for sharing on the listserv. With so many rare bird platforms out there, it's easy to forget that plenty of people still use this one as their go-to. So far, it sounds like the birds have been cooperative and many birders were able to view them today. I haven't heard of any issues involving people or vehicles being a problem. Shawn Conrad Grand Rapids On Sat, Jun 18, 2022, 8:20 PM Alyssa DeRubeis <[email protected]> wrote: > I’m shocked that this hasn’t been shared here yet, but an apparent pair of > ABERT’S TOWHEES is frequenting Murphy Hill Park in Grand Rapids. They have > been reliably seen since their discovery by Shawn Conrad yesterday. > > Directions for viewing by Shawn: > > “If you walk halfway up the mowed hill from the gravel alley on the SW > corner of the park, they have been primarily moving between the yards on > the north side of the park and the dense finger of trees and shrubs on the > east part of the park. One was briefly in a yard to the south. > > The male sings regularly and they both call (call is a squeak). > > There isn't any need to disturb neighbors, play calls, or get close. Just > know what you are listening for, walk halfway up the hill or so, and wait. > This is a quiet neighborhood, but the birds are relatively easy to find if > you just go to the public park and listen/look from the open area. > > Parking is a bit limited. The gravel alley can probably take 5 or 6. If > more show than that, you may have to find a side street and walk.” > > This species doesn’t have a pattern of vagrancy and has a very small > distribution in the southwestern United States, making this record quite > exceptional. > > Good luck for those who try for them! > > Alyssa DeRubeis > Magog, Quebec > > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
