I encounter certain species where variations show up together during migration. A small group of Savannah Sparrows offered that chance to see (and photograph) two of the 5 sub-sets of this species. I will offer more after the mission statement and page break.
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Including the title picture, here are more photos of the Savannah Sparrows I saw while birding at Hurricane Landing (Sardis Lake, Mississippi).
atop the rip-rap
The rip-rap surrounding the parking lot at Hurricane Landing traps floating logs and debris when the lake is at it’s normal level. During the winter, that rocky section also creates a niche for seeding plants that many birds use as a temporary home and diner. That is where I found the Sparrows.
hunting among the dead limbs, possibly a female
The bright yellow brow of the species is more subdued outside of breeding season. I’ll offer this photo of an adult from the Audubon page for comparison.
Breeding plumage showing the prominent yellow brow
There were two Ipswich Savannah Sparrows with the group I saw. Here is the only photo I could get.
Ipswich Savannah Sparrow
The indicators of an Ipswich are a white brow line, a slightly longer tail, slightly larger body than a Savannah and lighter brown coloration. A fun note is that the sub-species that bred on Sable Island of Nova Scotia were first collected near the north shore town of Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1868.
The other Savannah sub-species are Belding’s (found in salt marshes of Mexico and California), Large Billed (range restricted to Mexico) and San Benito (specific to the Island off of Baja California).
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I was able to get a short video of a Savannah Sparrow scampering along a log atop the rip-rap. This is the typical speed I encounter when I want to get a photo.
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When I started birding (seriously) 4 years ago, Nookular “nudged” me toward Warblers. He may have known that there were 41 species available for me to observe (if I tried hard). I have confirmed 17 of those “little yellow jobs” with 5 (high probable, but not photographed) sightings.
That naturally brought me to Sparrows where there are only 28 “LBB” species available. I have confirmed 12 (by photographic evidence) leaving 5 probable (sound recordings, etc).
After you see the next photos, you’ll ask yourself the same question I did of myself, “Why did I think Warblers were hard?”
House Sparrow — Old World Species
Chipping Sparrow, non-breeding plumage
Chipping Sparrow in Breeding plumage
Field Sparrow, breeding female
Field Sparrow male
Song Sparrow, adult Eastern
Song Sparrow, breeding plumage
Swamp Sparrow, non-breeding adult
White-throated Sparrow, adult breeding male
I have lots of photos in my files that show markers for id that are not worth showing here. I expect we all have those shots. Here is one of those that has given me fits. Give your guess as to it’s species.
Okay, not quite fair, so I’ll add this shot of the same bird.
What birds do have that are connected by species or close resemblance?
