I wonder if Jimi Hendrix was a birder?.....

From BSBO, Kim writes: One of the best things about working for a bird observatory (my Dad used to call it the Bird Factory.... isn't that funny?!)... anyway, one of the best things about working for BSBO is, of course, the birds! Our office is nestled just along the southern edge of Magee Marsh, and WOW, we get some cool birds coming to our feeders and water garden.

Case in point, check out today's special guest.

Ka-POW!!

Aren't Fox Sparrows amazing? Like some fairy waved her magic wand and out pops a bird that's a combination of a Song Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Towhee. I'll never forget seeing my first one. I had been feeding and studying birds in my backyard for awhile, when late one fall I noticed a bird scratching on the ground and thought, Oh cool, a thrush! I grabbed the bins and was shocked to see that, no, it wasn't a thrush. It was some super-sized sparrow and it was rusty red, red, red, all over. It was a life bird for me, right there in my own backyard. I really love when that happens!

Gratuitous Fox Sparrow Photo

Here's another shot of the same bird. There have been two hanging around the feeders at BSBO for a couple of days now. Note the poor, sad looking American Goldfinch in the bottom left corner of the photo. Wouldn't it just suck to be a winter-plumaged goldfinch when the Fox Sparrows are around?