I had a Nelson’s Sparrow in the meadow at Montrose this afternoon, October 7. The meadow is the open grassy area east of the Magic Hedge. At this time of the year the dunes are the best place to see Nelson’s at Montrose but they occasionally show up in the meadow as well. I saw nothing else of note.
Tag Archives: Sparrows
October 4, 2014
There were decent numbers of birds at Montrose this morning, especially Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers and both kinglets. I also had Magnolia, Tennessee, Black-and-white, and Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstart, and Bobolink among others. I saw a Nelson’s Sparrow in the meadow east of the Magic Hedge, my first Nelson’s of the fall. The American Golden-Plover was still at the beach along with 5 Black-bellied Plovers.
Curve-billed Thrasher and Clay-colored Sparrow, June 29, 2014
The Curve-billed Thrasher was still at Montrose early this morning, June 29. I was near the north end of the Magic Hedge when I noticed Geoff Williamson looking at and then pointing to something. I assumed he had the thrasher and when I got closer I could see the bird perched near the top of a Jack Pine. The thrasher posed obligingly for a minute or 2 before flying about 50 yards to the east and disappearing into the underbrush. I didn’t follow it but I assume it’s still in the area.
Clay-colored Sparrow (click to see the larger version)
Geoff also alerted me to a Clay-colored Sparrow he heard singing near the Park Bait Shop while driving in. I went over to the area and after a little poking around found the Clay-colored in the group of small evergreens just across the road from the Park Bait Shop. This is a very unusual sighting as Clay-colored Sparrows don’t normally occur at Montrose in late June.
May 26, 2014
Montrose was very good this morning. I ended up with 16 species of warblers and there were good numbers of flycatchers too. I also had a few bonus birds. Here are my highlights:
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – ~5 and very vocal
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee – ~12
Alder Flycatcher – ~10
Willow Flycatcher – 3
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – 1
Least Flycatcher – 1
Great Crested Flycatcher – 1
Eastern Bluebird – 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush – 1
Veery – 1
Swainson’s Thrush – ~5
Northern Mockingbird – 1 in the dunes
Tennessee Warbler – 3
Northern Parula – 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 3
Magnolia Warbler – ~6
Black-throated Blue Warbler – 1 female
Blackburnian Warbler – 1 female
Palm Warbler – 1
Bay-breasted Warbler – 1 female
Blackpoll Warbler – 3
American Redstart – ~25
Mourning Warbler – ~5
Connecticut Warbler – 1 female
Canada Warbler – ~8
Wilson’s Warbler – ~6
Savannah Sparrow – ~15
Nelson’s Sparrow – 1 in the dunes
Lincoln’s Sparrow – 1
Swamp Sparrow – 1
White-throated Sparrow – 1
Meadowlark sp. – 1
Bobolink – 2, male and female
May 10, 2014
I spent a few hours at Montrose this morning. It wasn’t as active as May 8 but I still ended up with 86 species, and I had almost 20(!) birds today that I didn’t see on Thursday. Here are my highlights:
Mute Swan – 3 flew in from the south and landed in the lake just off the beach
Northern Shoveler – 3 flying north over the lake
White-winged Scoter – 1 in the lake off the fishhook pier
Red-breasted Merganser – 11
Great Egret – 11, including a group of 8, all flying south
Northern Harrier – 1 immature flying south high over the point
Ruddy Turnstone – 2 on the beach
Laughing Gull – 1 adult flying south over the fishhook pier
Common Tern – 3
Red-headed Woodpecker – 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1 female
Yellow-throated Vireo – 1
Philadelphia Vireo – 1
All 5 swallows, with most of the Cliffs and Banks moving south
Marsh Wren – 1
Northern Mockingbird – 1
Blue-winged Warbler – 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler – 1 male
Blackburnian Warbler – 1
Mourning Warbler – 1
Scarlet Tanager – 1 male, flew in off the lake and landed in the dunes
Lark Sparrow – 1, flew in off the lake and landed in the dunes
Dickcissel – 1 singing male
There seemed to be a fair amount of turnover between today and Thursday, with fewer White-crowned Sparrows, Catharus thrushes, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Kingbirds, and Least Flycatchers today. Warblers are still scant.
Nelson’s Sparrow, September 22, 2013
Montrose was fairly slow this morning, September 22, at least compared to the reports from the day before. It seems like it’s always like this. My best find was a Nelson’s Sparrow in the meadow northeast of the Magic Hedge, the first of hopefully many more to come. I also had a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a somewhat early Golden-crowned Kinglet, and a couple American Pipits on the beach.
On a side note, today’s Nelson’s Sparrow represents a birding milestone for me, the first time in 35 years at this game that I’ve seen all 7 Ammodramus sparrows in the same year. I had Baird’s Sparrow in North Dakota in May, Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows in Delaware in August, and LeConte’s, Henslow’s, and Grasshopper Sparrows in the Midwest in the spring.