Early in January a Harris’s Sparrow was found in southeastern CT in the town of Lebanon. Due to heavy work commitments throughout most of January I couldn’t get away to try for it till late in the month. So I crossed my fingers that it would remain for a while, and I continued to save all the posts with the micro-directions and suggestions. Then I started to read that a local birder was putting seed out for it, so I was optimistic it would stay put for a while.
Finally with a small window to chase after it, I left in the early morning to make the 2-hour trek to the location. When I arrived another birder was there and he reported he had seen it a few times already that morning. So I just stood quietly and watched the area where the seed had been put on the ground. After about a 30-minute wait it arrived and fed on the ground, along with lots of White-throats, Songs, and Tree Sparrows. What a handsome bird.
I then drove up to the Windsor, CT landfill for my second try at Thayer’s Gull (one had been seen there earlier in the week). No luck with the Thayer’s but 2 first-year Icelands were a nice consolation.
My statebird map for Harris's Sparrow is provided below. Although Harris' is a common wintering bird in the central and southern plains, it is a frequent vagrant across the country. I've now seen it in more states as a vagrant (7) than in its typical wintering range (4).
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