Bird #291 — Brewer’s Sparrow

spizella (finch) breweri (given in 1856 by John Cassin, Philadelphia ornithologist, in honor of Thomas M. Brewer, Boston physician, ornithologist, and friend of John James Audubon)

Monday, April 2, 1984 — 7:30 am

Coronado National Forest, Arizona — Sabino Canyon Recreation Area

My mom and wife dropped me off at the entrance to the recreation area at 7:00 a.m. I was the only person there, and I’m not sure the place was even open.  I walked past the visitor center and across the flats toward the canyon.  It was chilly that early in the morning, and I had on my heavy green roofing sweatshirt and a down vest.  As I started up the trail, a Roadrunner walked ahead of me, keeping about 20 yards away.

I was still on the flats, in a saguaro forest with a lot of scrub, when I spotted the Brewer’s Sparrows.  They were perched in a mesquite next to the road.  They flew to another mesquite near a small water hole.

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