Shelter Cove 2/17--American Tree Sparrow

Disappointed, he trudged through the ice and slush of the Shelter Cove soccer fields on his way back to his car, not realizing that by quitting his search he had set in motion the Second Law of Birding, which states that you will not see the bird until you have (truly) given up on seeing it. There, right in the parking lot next to his car, 6 birds flew up at his approach. When he spotted them in the copse of trees where he had first looked a half hour ago, he saw the American Tree Sparrows he had come for. They flew off when as he turned toward them, flying into the mini-wetlands behind the trees. He chased them as well as he could through the ice and brambles, getting some unsatisfactory, barely usable photos. Mostly he got very good pictures of twigs. 

He returned to his car, with a semblance of a feeling of accomplishment, when the irony continued. After putting away his camera and taking off his bins, the sparrows returned to the spot where he originally had seen them. He was able to take much better photos through the window of his car. 

American Tree Sparrow
with the classic "stick pin" on the breast