Are We Crazy for Doing This to Find a Bird?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

The bird at 9:56 is actually a Marsh Wren. Thanks to Davis Balsar for catching that!

[@MicahAllenA]

There were reports of Nelson's Sparrows out at Evansville SWA just last week, out at that same area by the cattails! I went out there and finally found one a little past those barren trees. Kind of surprising I come on KZbin looking for Nelson's stuff and find a video from last year of someone out at the exact same spot (maybe it's the same bird). I wiped out a few times on those muddy divots in the field.

[@briankozak7014]

Well done, guys! I think this has been your best video yet because those of us who bird not only enjoy your successes, but share in the sweat and frustration that sometimes go along with it. I like how you finished, Ryan, with the thought that if nothing else, you were able to enjoy a beautiful natural area you might not otherwise had cause to visit. Nice to see Colette and Kris again!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks, Brian! Colette and Kris will likely be in a couple more vids too!

[@darylbernard2616]

Excellent! Although I'd seen my Lifer LeConte's Sparrow in North Dakota in 2021, the species remained my nemesis in Michigan - until just a few weeks ago when I chased a very cooperative bird in the Grand Rapids area and was rewarded with incredible views. Michigan bird #356!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Congratulations!!🎉

[@pauraque]

The only way to get Nelson’s sparrow in my county is to go to this one salt marsh during king tide in January. Stand on this one board walk and then raise one leg and whisper an ancient birding incantation… 😂

[@BadgerlandBirding]

#Incantationreveal

[@thetraveler2561]

Never seen these sparrow in Illinois. I wish we had more visits in the backyard. Even at the State Park it is difficult to find species that were around a few years back. They do more hunting at the park than they used to might have something to do with it. Nice job guys always appreciate your efforts!🐦

[@BadgerlandBirding]

They're pretty skulky and hard to find even when you know they're there, so they could just be good at hiding or not in the area at the moment.

[@tvalkyrie]

Muck knee boots Guys ! 🤣Thanks for the great video !

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Have them! Didn't think we would need them, lol. - Derek

[@leuconoise9081]

Excellent work guys! Y’all are an inspiration.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks, Daniel!

[@carolshannon6449]

You got the Nelson's! Woot!

[@Ovenbirder]

Congrats! Very tough bird to find. I’m glad your persistence paid off. It makes the reward all the sweeter! And YES, you are crazy! So am I. Crazy for the excitement, the pursuit, the reward - crazy for BIRDS! Stay bird crazy.

[@TheBeachMawMaw]

Great job guys! Thanks for your determination too. I've never seen a Nelson's Sparrow, another beauty for sure!! Hope you got all those stickers off of your pants Ryan, you were covered !!🥺😁

[@nathanwebb4836]

That was an awesome find!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks!

[@MrTmiket0007]

Thanks so much for sharing another awesome video like always, beautiful sparrow endeed 🐦❤️👍

[@BadgerlandBirding]

You're welcome, Miguel! Thanks for watching!

[@leannewilson7184]

I’m so glad you guys have footage of these different types of sparrows! I would otherwise not know what they look like since my observations are from my yard birdfeeders. My “thing” is plant conservation and agree the seed burs are a pain in butt in the fields.

[@g57462]

Excellent video good job thank you 😊 👍

[@carolshannon6449]

This was fun. Loved it.

[@chipperatl]

Looks like maybe your White-crowned Sparrow was a Gambel's ssp. Great video as always guys.

[@ABirdersParadise]

Yep, definitely crazy! So crazy that I think it's great and would do it myself! :D Glad you guys found the secretive sparrows. It certainly was fun to watch.

[@Grateful_Dad_54]

Congrats on your sparrows! Thanks for sharing.

[@nature_rabbits5370]

Walking through the marsh grasses. Also reminds me of what rabbit parents have to go through with hay getting stuck to them and in random places.

[@raminagrobis6112]

I'd be delighted to watch a video where you try to see a Yellow Rail. In my experience, this is by far the most difficult one to see with our own eyes, although it is fairly easy to locate if present, using the "pebbles" trick. I know one place where it has been nesting for several decades in the Saguenay region. I even directed people curious to find it by describing the exact place where it is found. And as a matter of fact, LeConte's Sparrow has once nested there too!

[@davisbalser203]

Call me crazy but was that not a Marsh Wren at 9:56? Also congrats on the Nelsons! Only seen a few in my time birding and they can be so tough! Love your content.

[@michaelhochstetler8483]

That what I thought

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Looks like it! Must have had a title/clip mix up. Will make a note!

[@margaret2652]

Awesome video!

[@Beryllahawk]

That certainly was a difficult task you set yourself!! Might be time to invest in some of those ridiculously tall boots that some fishermen use, though, haha! More seriously - I would guess it's hard to know just what kind of terrain and conditions you'll encounter, but having something like waders or good tough jeans or even leather pants might make it a little less "stickery" of a situation. (Forgive the bad joke!) Of course where I live, it's always really hot as well as wet, but even so I'd be very reluctant to go stomping around in the bayou areas with anything less than good steel toe boots and heavy jeans on. Not just because of water moccasins either, some of the sedge grass is scary sharp! Those sticker plants you found seem to be at least as pokey and itchy as the burrs we get down here.

[@michaelhochstetler8483]

I got a Nelson's on the 4th try. I also encountered those annoying weeds that stick to your pants. They literally look like flowers! Totally worth it though.

[@jessamineprice5803]

Well done! Glad you succeeded in the end. I really enjoyed this video and as always I'm impressed at the quality of your bird footage and the overall production values of these videos. If you're ever in South Korea, let me know and I'll show you my favorite hotspots! We have some good birds that winter here, but that means for some very chilly days out in the fields.

[@Tigerpuffer]

Sparrowing is a lot of fun. But, I think the venue makes a big difference. In one of my favored fall sparrowing patches, the birds tend to flush from the ground into thick pine trees, where they become invisible. This, or a situation where birds are flushing from dense grass only to dive back into it, can make identifying individual birds extremely difficult. If you can find a patch where there is tall grass or dense brush along a fenceline, sparrows will often flush from the grass and perch in the fence, making identifying them much easier. Also, interesting adult white-crowned at 4:19, looks like the white-lored 'gambelli' type. These are a big deal when they show up here in the east! At least for subspecies fanciers.

[@birdman5223]

Gr8 stuff U2☺️

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Thanks, Mark!

[@supercooper4281]

I think this bird ended up in the Indiana Dunes National Park last Thursday. Sent a Facebook message with a photo.

[@garymeredith2441]

Right now in San Diego County guys there is a Nelson sharp-tailed Sparrow and this is on May 3rd of 2023 he's in the Pickleweed trying to find them is a chore especially when you're dragging around 500 4.0 lens on a tripod , this bird has been seen by lots of other Birders in San Diego County at the San Elijo Lagoon it's in South San Diego County .

[@aurora571000]

Maybe try pants that don’t keep stickers so much? But, hey, you got the bird!

[@leedee4968]

❤️

[@birdingbythebay]

Yes or No question. Is the Eskimo Curlew extinct. one word answer.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Yes :(

[@birdingbythebay]

@@BadgerlandBirding DARN IT (BUT AREN'T they listed as critically endangered)