Harris's Sparrow, Brandywine Creek State Park, Wilmington DE - 11/1/2008

Images and text copyright © Phil Jeffrey 2008. All rights reserved.

This Harris's Sparrow has been at Brandywine Creek State Park in Wilmington DE since at least October 11th. It proved quite confiding, coming to feed on seed left at the edge of an expanse of brush just past the entrance toll booth. This bird is an adult in basic plumage and was only my second Harris's Sparrow - the other one was another vagrant seen in Wainscott NY (Long Island, Suffolk Co) in March 1999. Harris's Sparrows breed in northern central Canada, wintering in the central US from TX up through SD. It's the largest US Sparrow - just a little larger than White-crowned Sparrow and since there were no White-crowned around that day it was fairly easy to spot in flight. Other sparrows present were: Song, Swamp, Savannah, Field, White-throated, Dark-eyed Junco and House Sparrow.

Phil Jeffrey, Nov 2008