Savannah Sparrows on Breeding Territory

By Corey • June 17, 2011 • 9 comments

Savannah Sparrows have been very kind to me over the last couple of years, whether at Brigantine, Breezy Point, or Lake Perris. Passerculus sandwichensis just seems willing to be confiding, a trait about which I certainly can’t imagine complaining. My recent outing with Seth and Mary when we found probable breeding Bobolinks in Queens was no exception, with a couple of pairs of very confiding Savannah Sparrows singing, foraging, and generally posing for the digiscoping rig. It was nice, very nice, as the photos below hopefully demonstrate.

Savannah Sparrows breed across the northern United States and most of Canada and Alaska and winter as far south as northern Central America and Cuba. They are plentiful and varied, with numerous subspecies, several of which were or will likely be recognized as distinct species. Most important, for this blog post anyway, is that they breed in Queens and sat still long enough for me to get some images. Enjoy!

If you liked this post and want to see more great images of birds make sure to check out 10,000 Clicks, our big (and growing) page of galleries here at 10,000 Birds. This post has been submitted to Bird Photography Weekly #147. Go check it out!

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Tags: digiscoping, sparrows

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About the Author

Corey

Corey is a New Yorker who has lived most of his life upstate but has spent the last three years in Queens. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy, their son, Desmond Shearwater, and their two indoor cats, Hunter and B.B.

9 Responses to “Savannah Sparrows on Breeding Territory”

Mike Jun 17th, 2011 at 9:39 am
Gorgeous, Corey. But how do you know they’re not Song Sparrows? Joking!!
Carrie Jun 17th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Great photos. They really bring out the subtle beauty of the small and brown.
Jochen Jun 18th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
@Carrie: No! The Savannah Sparrow is a shammer and a cheat trying to obtain European birders’ sympathy by fraud. Small and brown it may be and a sparrow, too. But the yellow will always betray its true North American origin – it’s adhesion to the colour decadence of your continent – and expose the bird’s trickery, a wisp of wolf’s hair underneath sheep’s clothing.
luke Jun 19th, 2011 at 5:35 am
hello
listen to your commentaters i really enjoyed your blog it had loads of great pictures and by the way the person who wrote that comment was quite mean the one were it says carrie no the savvanah sparrow is a shammeer i dont believe that i think there amazing what do they eat i thought they would not survive there no food sources
bye
Jochen Jun 19th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
@Luke: it was all in good humour. It’s the good old game of “jealousy” of the European birders, who have to be content with looking at rather drab bird species compared to the birders of North America who are blessed with much more colourful birds. While I was in North America, I thoroughly enjoyed Savannah Sparrows for the very reasons Carrie stated.
I also think they are amazing.
Cheers!
Corey Jun 19th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
@Jochen: I don’t know, I think luke might have your number…
The Zen Birdfeeder Jun 20th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Nice images, especially amongst the flowers.
luke Jun 20th, 2011 at 11:51 am
hello
whoever wrote that is toataly wrong
i do not have that persons number.
bye
Larry Jordan Jun 22nd, 2011 at 9:25 am
Excellent shots of what is most likely my favorite sparrow Corey!