So the eBird folks say I had a Lincoln's Sparrow in the disputed Sparrow School photographs (see a couple posts ago). Their comment: "Thanks much, it's a Lincoln's Sparrow. The ground color of the breast is buffy, it lacks the central large dot of a Song Sparrow. Lincoln's Sparrows are common here in winter."
I sent John's rather convincing argument for Song Sparrow back to them, but I don't know what they'll say. John's comment: "the buffy colors on the flanks and neck might suggest Lincoln's, but other aspects rule that out. The breast streaking is not as fine or as dense as one finds on a typical Lincoln's. The buffy areas are not as extensive, and the bill is too thick. The cheek patch on a typical Lincoln's is also a lot more brown than this bird's and contrasts more with the gray supercilium. Buffy flanks are a common variation in Song Sparrows; I probably see as many Songs with them as without them."
Don't know how or whether I'll get a response, but in the meantime, I have either a rare sighting (Song) or a lifer (Lincoln's). Not too bad a choice there!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Blogs and Blessings.
I've spent the last few days trying to figure out what I'm going to blog about first. The first entry just feels so forced and out of place. Sorry for the awkwardness, friends!! I'm not even really sure why I want to blog to be honest. I guess its because I've got way more nuggets of Beeber brain thoughts than a facebook status will allow me to express.
Anyhow, I've been trying to lay some ground rules for myself based mostly on what I don't like about other blogs. First and foremost I will only discuss my friends and family in a way that is meant to be flattering, funny, and light-hearted. I love you too much to make you mad at me for something as dumb as this. Celebrities and other people of interest in the media, however, are fair game. I'll probably talk a lot of crap about those morons. Also, I'm very aware that none of you care about my daily routine. At least in the sense of what I had for breakfast, what kind of conversations I'm having with my friends about Whale Wars, or how I feel when kitties purr. Basically I just hope to make people laugh or think or learn.
Okay! So with that said...I want to share with you something cool that Hingepoint church did this week!! As most of you know, I've been looking for a new church since I made the decision to leave Niles. I've been visiting Hingepoint Church the most and I'm really enjoying it there. I've heard Pastor Russ share several times that he wants to be a church that loves the city of Bakersfield and contributes back to this community. One-third of all money given to the church will go back to this city. Pretty intense if you ask me. Especially for a church that started a few months ago with a handful of people and meets in the conference room of a hotel.
Getting to my point! On Sunday Hingepoint really drove this point home. They gave everyone in attendance a $50 dollar bill with these instructions: Bless a mom other than your own within 48 hours.
Amazing!!
I couldn't believe it! Probably close to 100 families in this town will receive this blessing. I was just so proud of the church, the staff, and the members. What a great gift to everyone involved! I just couldn't help thinking about my own mom. I was pretty much in high school when my mom started taking care of my brother, sister, and myself on her own so I wouldn't say I grew up with a single mother but we definitely went through that time in our life. We were never without or destitute but I assure you a $50 gift like this at any time would have done wonders for the stress my mom felt.
So today...I got to bless a mom!! To be honest at first I felt a lot of pressure. Trying to think of who I know or what I could do with the money and how to know who I should give it to. It actually stressed me out. I finally had to just put it out of my head and know that God would lead me to the right person. So after a day of thinking about this it finally dawned on me.....Regardless of who gets my particular envelope God is still God and He knows EXACTLY what he's doing and will use the opportunity to bless this family and make himself real to them. I really had very little to do with the situation. Hah! So today at Winco I bumped into a young mom with 4 young kids. I gave her my gift and and instantly just felt pumped knowing that God was there.
A good day, my friends!!
Anyhow, I've been trying to lay some ground rules for myself based mostly on what I don't like about other blogs. First and foremost I will only discuss my friends and family in a way that is meant to be flattering, funny, and light-hearted. I love you too much to make you mad at me for something as dumb as this. Celebrities and other people of interest in the media, however, are fair game. I'll probably talk a lot of crap about those morons. Also, I'm very aware that none of you care about my daily routine. At least in the sense of what I had for breakfast, what kind of conversations I'm having with my friends about Whale Wars, or how I feel when kitties purr. Basically I just hope to make people laugh or think or learn.
Okay! So with that said...I want to share with you something cool that Hingepoint church did this week!! As most of you know, I've been looking for a new church since I made the decision to leave Niles. I've been visiting Hingepoint Church the most and I'm really enjoying it there. I've heard Pastor Russ share several times that he wants to be a church that loves the city of Bakersfield and contributes back to this community. One-third of all money given to the church will go back to this city. Pretty intense if you ask me. Especially for a church that started a few months ago with a handful of people and meets in the conference room of a hotel.
Getting to my point! On Sunday Hingepoint really drove this point home. They gave everyone in attendance a $50 dollar bill with these instructions: Bless a mom other than your own within 48 hours.
Amazing!!
I couldn't believe it! Probably close to 100 families in this town will receive this blessing. I was just so proud of the church, the staff, and the members. What a great gift to everyone involved! I just couldn't help thinking about my own mom. I was pretty much in high school when my mom started taking care of my brother, sister, and myself on her own so I wouldn't say I grew up with a single mother but we definitely went through that time in our life. We were never without or destitute but I assure you a $50 gift like this at any time would have done wonders for the stress my mom felt.
So today...I got to bless a mom!! To be honest at first I felt a lot of pressure. Trying to think of who I know or what I could do with the money and how to know who I should give it to. It actually stressed me out. I finally had to just put it out of my head and know that God would lead me to the right person. So after a day of thinking about this it finally dawned on me.....Regardless of who gets my particular envelope God is still God and He knows EXACTLY what he's doing and will use the opportunity to bless this family and make himself real to them. I really had very little to do with the situation. Hah! So today at Winco I bumped into a young mom with 4 young kids. I gave her my gift and and instantly just felt pumped knowing that God was there.
A good day, my friends!!
WILSON'S PHALAROPE!
A bunch of people on the local listserv were emailing about a Wilson's Phalarope who's been hanging around the Julian Wetlands near here. Because it was on my way to my sales territory, I stopped there for lunch and saw the bird!
I didn't get pics, but a guy with a Peterson's was also there and he and I patiently observed and confirmed the Wilson's. What a thrill! I also saw and ID'd a Cliff Swallow as my second lifer of the trip.
Woohoo! Not many people will get to see one of these guys (the phalarope, I mean), especially not in PA, so I'm really glad I went and looked.
I also heard a Sora for the first time since I left the Marsh House, which by the way sold recently. I found out today, and I'm a little sad. I really loved that house. Someone's gonna get an awful lot of blood, sweat, tears, and birds out of that place, and I wish them well.
List for Julian Wetlands:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Sora
Greater Yellowlegs
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Red-winged Blackbird
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
I didn't get pics, but a guy with a Peterson's was also there and he and I patiently observed and confirmed the Wilson's. What a thrill! I also saw and ID'd a Cliff Swallow as my second lifer of the trip.
Woohoo! Not many people will get to see one of these guys (the phalarope, I mean), especially not in PA, so I'm really glad I went and looked.
I also heard a Sora for the first time since I left the Marsh House, which by the way sold recently. I found out today, and I'm a little sad. I really loved that house. Someone's gonna get an awful lot of blood, sweat, tears, and birds out of that place, and I wish them well.
List for Julian Wetlands:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Sora
Greater Yellowlegs
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Red-winged Blackbird
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
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