Sunday, February 6, 2011

Lark Sparrow in Devens - 1/29/11

About the only good thing happening with all this snow and ice is that it's focusing more birds at feeders....not necessarily good for the birds, but it does make it easier for birders. So when Kevin Bourinot let us know that he had found his 2nd Lark Sparrow of the season in the Devens area (maybe the same bird?) we headed out last Saturday morning before more predicted bad weather hit.After searching 3-4 fairly good feedings areas Mark spotted the sparrow flying down to the ground under a feeder. A little hard to see, but he kept popping up so you could see the facial markings.
Finally this handsome little bird perched right up in the crook of a tree....
where he sat for several minutes looking around...
He then flew off a short distance....
and perched up again for a few seconds this time.
Finally he flew into a Forsythia hedge and preened for a few minutes before flying out of the yard and heading to another house with feeders up the hill.

This is such a handsome little sparrow that it's always such a pleasure to spend a little time with one. I just hope he's surviving all this crazy winter weather.

Enjoy.....Sheila
Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. MikeDieselFebruary 6, 2011 at 11:44 PM

    I've seen many different sparrows at my feeders in Devens, MA. Some had crown stripes, believe about 3 stripes going from forehead back over top of head. But I did not take note to see if there were lines from under the eyes back like I saw in the pictures. From Sheila pictures I am assuming these are the distinguishing features of the Lark Sparrow. I will look up in my book to see if there are other features I should look for. Thank Sheila, Birds are beautiful. MikeD on Walnut St

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mass AudubonFebruary 14, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Sheila,

    It's so nice to see that birds are coping well through this winter weather, perhaps better than we are! Since you are such an avid birder, I'd like to let you know about a great event Mass Audubon has coming up that is a real treat for birders in the Commonwealth.

    Mass Audubon is hosting our 19th annual Massachusetts Birders Meeting on Saturday, March 5, from 8 am to 4:30 pm at Bentley University in Waltham. Experienced and novice birders alike are invited to come learn about birds in varied habitats and trends in bird conservation at the daylong event filled with speakers and workshops. For more info or to register, visit www.mass.aududubon.org/birdersmeeting.

    I hope you’ll join us for this opportunity to be in the company of an exciting and knowledgeable birding community. And please feel free to share this information with your readers and friends.

    Best,

    Hilary Koeller
    Mass Audubon
    hkoeller@massaudubon.com

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)