Blue Grosbeak

 

July 9^th (posted July 10^th)

          Mike and I have been to the corner of Girdham and Reed roads in the Oak Openings Metropark umpteen times (at least six or seven) in search of a Blue Grosbeak.  A pair has been reported sporadically at this location for at least two months.  Every time we’ve gone, we wander up and down the road looking and listening and finding nothing.  We’ve come at different times of the day.  We’ve hiked a trail near the intersection.  No grosbeak.

          I’ve listened to recordings of the Blue Grosbeak song trying to get it in my head.  The problem is that a Blue Grosbeak sounds somewhat similar to an Indigo Bunting.  This is a common bird that is always around and singing.  Every time I hear an Indigo Bunting, I think to myself could this be a Blue Grosbeak?  I was making myself a little crazy.  Mike kept saying, “When you hear a Blue Grosbeak, you will know it.”  I was skeptical.

          We went back to the infamous location once again this morning.  When I got out of the car, I knew immediately that a Blue Grosbeak was singing.  There was no mistaking it for an Indigo Bunting.  Mike agreed 100%.  We were trying to locate the bird in a grove of trees when it stopped singing.  Somehow it had flown across the field and started singing again.  We walked over to the new spot and still couldn’t find the bird.  It must have been buried in heavy foliage.  Once again it flew even further away and kept calling.  After an extensive search of the area, we were unable to relocate the bird.

          In birding, a definitive identification by recognizing a bird call counts.  It was not very satisfying, but we can add a Blue Grosbeak to our list.

(1 new species, total for the year 280)

Blue Grosbeak