LeConte’s Sparrow, Concord, MA, February 2013

I was away on a business trip when the first post came out on the listserve that a LeConte’s Sparrow was found feeding on a cleared shoulder of a small suburban road in Concord.  A few years back I had tried for a LeConte’s in MA found at Great Meadows NWR (also in Concord amazingly).  I think I heard that bird calling from the cattails where it had been reported, but could never get a visual on it.  So I was very interested in trying to see this newly reported bird and fill that gap in my MA statelist.  It was reported to be very tame, and easily found by everyone that posted.  The problem was I wouldn’t be home for 3 more days – would the bird hang around that long?  And if it did stick around, and if my late afternoon flight back home was on time, I would be able to get to the bird’s location en route back from the airport with about an hour of sunlight to spare.  And then there’s the third “if” - if the bird was cooperative then I should be able to see it that afternoon.

The bird truly did stick around, and was reported the morning of the day I came back home.  And my flight was actually early, so everything was falling into place.  I arrived at the spot and saw 6 birders up ahead standing along the roadside – with binoculars and monster lenses apparently trained on the bird.  Amazingly they were practically looking down at their feet.  I walked up and realized the bird was no more than 5 feet away from me, crawling mouse-like under grasses on the road shoulder.  After a few seconds there was movement in the grasses, and I got amazing views of the head and back of the bird.  What a gorgeous little bird!  All things considered it turned out to be one my easiest New England statebirds in some time.  There was no need to stress about it afterall. 

MA is my second New England state for LeConte’s having seen one in Maine in 2010.  I also found and photographed one in Wyoming some years ago – one of only a handful of sightings for that state.  And I’ve also seen LeConte’s in 5 central states in its normal winter and breeding ranges.