On January 17th I heard that a Harris’s Sparrow had been seen by the bird feeders at the Mequon Nature Preserve in Ozaukee County, WI. A day later I decided to make the 50 minute trip north to see if I could find this rare bird.
The Harris’s Sparrow breeds in Northern Canada and can reach as far south as Texas in winter. Their normal range is between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River but each year, a few individuals stray into other parts of the country such as Wisconsin, where a handful of reports come in each year.
With a blizzard the night before, I felt confident that the bird had stayed put and would be looking to the feeders at the preserve for food. When I arrived and got out of the car some light snow was falling and the wind made being outside unpleasant to say the least. A snow removal worker was plowing snow off the parking lot and shoveling the sidewalks and pathways. I walked around the east side of the building and a small flock of American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos flushed from some nearby bushes. I scanned through them, hoping to see the Harris’s among them. No luck this time. I went around to the north side where some bird feeders were. Several birds were actively feeding, including more Juncos and Tree Sparrows and some noisy House Sparrows.
I continued around the building, coming to the west side where there was one feeder and a couple of Black-capped Chickadees, but nothing else. I knew at this point it would be a waiting game.
I made a few more laps around the building when suddenly there was a larger flock of birds at the feeder to the west. Among the smaller birds I had already seen was one that was slightly larger. It had a black cap and white chest with a bright orange beak: It was the Harris’s Sparrow! Just as soon as it had appeared it took off across the road into the shrubs where it seemingly vanished. Feeling unsatisfied with my second-long encounter, I waited longer, thinking it would be back again at some point. As I waited, several other birds came and joined in the search.
It was nearly an hour of people with cameras and binoculars milling around and checking feeders until the sparrow returned. When it did, it stayed in the bushes near the feeder, occasionally moving around. From time to time it would fly up on some wood beams attached to the building. It gave pretty good lucks but was almost always obscured by branches and twigs.
Other birds seen were a flyby Cooper’s Hawk and a surprise flyover Glaucous Gull.
