Photo and Commentary ©2023 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
It may not produce great excitement for most of you, but this sparrow is special. What makes the Baird’s Sparrow special for me is that it was one of the last remaining North American sparrows I had not photographed. The expressions “rare and elusive” have been used by some to describe this resident of the grasslands of the middle of the continent. This undoubtedly was reinforced by the fact that I had seen them before, but had never been able to get a picture of one. In many ways it does look like numerous other sparrows, a fact confirmed by the number I had had to evaluate before finding the “one” I was after in the northeast corner of Montana.
A number of organizations maintain records of bird populations across the country and Partners in Flight contributed the following numbers on this species: 29% spend some part of the year in the U.S.; 71% breed in Canada; and 81% winter in Mexico. I read these figures and then had to read them again. Something just didn’t match up correctly. Perhaps this is because, like many songbirds, they migrate at night and are seldom observed during migration periods. This however does not negate the fact that they were there during that time. I have heard them, singing in the grasses yet invisible to the eye. I knew they were there, only, just frustratingly so.
Paul, too, dealt with the invisible, but unlike many of us, he didn’t seem frustrated. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15-16 NIV)
He had apparently matured in his faith to such a degree that, for him, there was one continuous continuum, reaching from the visible to the invisible. In contrast, I’m still at the point where I’m very grateful for those glimpses we’re given.