A small group of Vermont birders went to Meadow Road, Montague, Mass on July 8th to look for the reported Henslow's Sparrow. Looking out over the 20 plus acre field one could see that it was going to be a classic case of the "Henslow in the hayfield " problem. But for Sue Wetmore, Phillip Ballou and Peter Manship it didn't take long,
After a short time searching the field for the Henslow, the bird started to sing in the distance and it wasn't long before Sue and Phillip (pictured above) had the bird in their scopes.
Twice the bird retreated back into the field, but would reappear again. As luck would have it, the last time we saw the Henslow's Sparrow was 15 to 20 feet away from us by the road for some great looks. 
This last image shows the small pointed tail and the beautiful coloring of the Henslow's Sparrow.
When the bird left for the back of the field we birded the area and came up 34 species of bird.On the way out at the intersection of Meadow rd and Greenfield rd we saw a deer with what looked like a brand new fawn which promptly run in to the tall grass and disappeared from sight.
After a short time searching the field for the Henslow, the bird started to sing in the distance and it wasn't long before Sue and Phillip (pictured above) had the bird in their scopes. Twice the bird retreated back into the field, but would reappear again. As luck would have it, the last time we saw the Henslow's Sparrow was 15 to 20 feet away from us by the road for some great looks. This last image shows the small pointed tail and the beautiful coloring of the Henslow's Sparrow.When the bird left for the back of the field we birded the area and came up 34 species of bird.On the way out at the intersection of Meadow rd and Greenfield rd we saw a deer with what looked like a brand new fawn which promptly run in to the tall grass and disappeared from sight.
All in all a very rewarding day of birding on Meadow Rd in Montague, MA.
Good Birding
Peter Manship
Images and story © 2009 Peter Manship LLC
Images and story © 2009 Peter Manship LLC
3 comments:
what beautiful photos! Sparrows are underappreciated; they are lovely little birds. This bird in particular has really lovely coloring.
It's Montague with a G, I think...
Thanks Sarah for the correction,and I also think that sparrows are under valued. The people that bird around here have more interest in sparrows and will drive a long distance to see a good rare to Vt/ New England sparrow. Did you know that in the spring there was a Golden-crowned sparrow found in Orwell Vt. Check out April blog post about the Golden-crowned sparrow.
Thanks again
Peter
Peter,
I was fortunate to see that bird as well, your photos are among the best I've seen of that bird...excellent.
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