| Common Name | Grasshopper Sparrow |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ammodramus sannarum |
| Type of Report | Out-of-Season |
| Date of Observation | 10/22/2023 |
| Media | |
| Number Observed | 1 |
| Reporting Observer's Name | Coleen Lawlor |
| Mailing Address | 211 Darby Hill Rd Rockingham, VT 05101 United States Map It |
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| Date Completed | 10/23/2023 |
| Names & Emails of Other Contributing Observers | Ben Whittington |
| Latitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 0 |
| Longitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 0 |
| Place Name | Herrick's Cove |
| Township | Rockingham |
| County | Windham |
| Vermont eBird Checklist URL | ebird.org |
| Time of Day | 05:05 PM |
| Length of Time Observed | 15 min |
| Maximum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 12 |
| Minimum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 9 |
| Noteworthy Weather Conditions | Raining, overcast, |
| Optical Equipment Used for Observation | Leica, Noctivid 8X42 |
| Observer’s Previous Acquaintance With This or Similar Species | Seen in Vermont at Franklin Airport, in Arizona, and did monitoring summer 2023 in Windham County for 6-10 hours. |
| I certify that any attachments included with this report were captured during this observation event. | |
| Description of Habitat | along CT river and cove at the end of Herrick's cove "point" in bushes. Was feeding on very short stubbly grass for most of the viewing time. |
| Behaviors Observed | flying, feeding, perching |
| Description of Vocalizations | none |
| Verbal Narrative & Description of Observation | Bird flew out of bush, short flight, dumpy in flight as is their way of flying, noted small size, short tail. Landed in short grass and began feeding. The bird moved closer to observers over the time it was feeding. Noted obvious eye ring. dark patch at auricles, ruled out Leconte's sparrow, noted median strip on head and flatness of head as well as large bill. The median stripe in this situation appeared light in color and creamy not white which we noted, possibly because it was wet from rain. Bird had buffy breast and had some yellow brown on face but not high in contrast to the breast. Discussed field marks with Ben Whittington |
| Relative Size & Shape | Small, short tailed, short necked |
| Head | light median strip on head, dark spot on auricles, large bill, flat head. |
| Feet & Bill | large gray bill, did not notice feet |
| Upper Back | Did not observe this well concentrated on other aspects of the bird. |
| Lower Back & Rump | striped |
| Wings | did not appear long in flight, rounded and short |
| Breast, Belly, Flanks, Under Tail Coverts | buffy breast |
| Tail | short |
| IMPORTANT: What similar species were eliminated when making the identification and how was this bird different? | Ruled out LeConte's Sparrow this bird was too dark and not orange had larger bill, too small and stubby for a Vesper who also has an eye ring. lacked white outer tail feathers, light color and size, Not a song sparrow smaller, shorter, completely different shape, no spot or markling on chest like song. |
| Other Notes & Comments | Looked in field to be adult or a first year bird that completed molt to adult plummage. |
| This report was written from notes taken: | Immediately After |
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