Sparrow Hunting

Under near perfect weather conditions, Fifteen Hampshire Bird Club members set out last Sunday morning to beat the weed patches of the Honey Pot in search of Sparrows. Of course, being October-it is prime time to encounter those elusive….LBJ’S. (Little Brown Jobs) We ended the day with nine species of Sparrows, the most notable were Vesper & Grasshopper Sparrow. However, we were afforded terrific looks at Song, Savannah, Swamp, White-Crowned, White-throated, and lesser looks at Field and Chipping Sparrows. However….sparrows weren’t the only entertainment- We had great looks at a Merlin harassing a Northern Harrier, Yellow-rumped & Palm Warblers (Eastern & Western) Cooper ’s hawk, a late bobolink and up to 10 Fish Crows at the Donut man in Hadley.   

 

Below are  lists and photos of the birds encountered during Sunday’s trip, however some of the photos were taken the week before.

 

Scott

 

Northern Harrier & Merlin. Merlins just go out of their way to make the lives of other birds miserable .

Northern Harrier- A more peaceful moment

Vesper Sparrow- on the powerline in the Honey Pot. I generally see Vesper Sparrows sitting & calling from the Powerlines in the Springtime, not so much in the fall.

Swamp Sparrow- early October is primetime for these guys here in the valley.

Chipping Sparrow-

Palm Warbler-Eastern. We also had decent looks at a Western Palm.

White-crowned Sparrow-Adult.

Lincoln's Sparrow- of the expected sparrows...we missed this one.

Honey Pot- Hadley

 

 Canada Goose  72
American Black Duck  4
Northern Harrier  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Killdeer  1
Mourning Dove  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1
Merlin  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  80
Carolina Wren  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
Eastern Bluebird  8
American Robin  5
European Starling  20
American Pipit  8
Palm Warbler (Western)  1
Palm Warbler (Yellow)  5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  12
Field Sparrow  2
Vesper Sparrow  1
Savannah Sparrow  70
Grasshopper Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  45
Swamp Sparrow  12
White-throated Sparrow  2
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)  6
Bobolink  1
Red-winged Blackbird  22
Rusty Blackbird  2
American Goldfinch  5

East Meadows- Northampton

Canada Goose  30
Turkey Vulture  2
Northern Harrier  2
Accipiter sp.  1
Killdeer  9
Merlin  1
American Crow  6
Horned Lark  12
Northern Mockingbird  1
American Pipit  15
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  17
Chipping Sparrow  1
Savannah Sparrow  3
Song Sparrow  5
Red-winged Blackbird  2
House Finch  4
American Goldfinch  8
House Sparrow  6