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Tuesday, March 14, 2000
Towhee headed for strange places - secluded backyards in Lamar Park
"We have a rufous-sided towhee in the yard,'' Carol Arnold wrote in a note at the end of January. "It's been here two weeks.'' Probably because of the drought and the unseasonably warm winter, towhees have been appearing in strange places this year.
Last week I was trying to water my own backyard in Lamar Park when I heard a strange little song from a deep corner thicket. Could it be the Carolina wren that had mystified me so often with its extensive repertoire?
I made tentative soft noises trying to coax it out. Eventually, up popped a surprise, a spotted towhee, bright in black with rusty brown sides and white belly, and with a sprinkling of white decoration on wings and tail. This was a new yard bird for my 47-year-old yard.
Eastern and spotted towhees were formerly considered one species, rufous-sided towhees. Now each has been restored to full species status. Both species occur here. Female towhees are brown, while males are black. Birds of brush and thicket, towhees scratch among dry leaves on the ground for insects and berries, or a small lizard or salamander.
Private sanctuary
I called Arnold to ask if her towhee was still around. She said it hadn't been spotted for about two weeks, but she would be glad for me to come and look for it. The Arnolds live in a secluded cul de sac in a neighborhood bordering on Lamar Park. She and her husband Bob have created a private sanctuary, the kind enjoyed and sought out by birds. Plants have been welcomed where birds and animals planted them or wherever they chose to insinuate themselves.
When I arrived, I was greeted at the door by a long-haired dachshund named Pepper. Arnold told me that she works half days at the Railway Inn, a motel on Ocean Drive that the couple built and operate. This has cut into her energy and her birding time. While we talked, we sat near a window to watch a hummingbird feeder where a hummer not familiar to Arnold often fed. When it came, it was a buff-bellied hummingbird and was making itself very much at home.
Outside, loquat trees loaded with fruit were everywhere. She hoped they would last until the orioles come. A beauty berry bush had not leafed yet. A Mexican red bud had already bloomed. There were fig trees. Their son, Peter, had recently done extensive clearing at the back of their place to create a sunny vegetable garden. Arnold had wanted it both ways, a jungle for the birds and a clearing with sunlight for vegetables. As we looked, a Carolina wren came to sit on the fence and scold. He liked it better thicker, he said. He and his mate have nested in the Arnold walkway in other years. The yard has sheltered winter sparrows, thrashers and painted and indigo buntings.
But the towhee didn't show, and I have not seen the one in my yard again either.
Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi
resident, has studied birds of Texas since 1960.
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