On my way to a Horned Lark monitoring site south of Brownsville around 08:00
this morning, I noticed an unusual tail pattern/shape for a sparrow that flew
up off the gravel shoulder of Belts Rd.
Sure enough, when I turned around for a second look where it landed back on the
gravel, it turned out to be a Lark Sparrow. A couple of territorial Savannah
Sparrows were pestering it as it foraged along the south edge of the road.
This was a little west of where Bond Butte Rd. tees into Belts Dr. Approximate
coordinates were N 44.3016° W 123.045°. The fields on both sides of the road
are in grass-seed production, growing in a dense, tall monoculture as typical
for that type of crop. Thus the only habitat suitable for a Lark Sparrow is the
gravel edge of the road.
Later on (around 10:15) as I was leaving the site, I ran across Jamie Simmons
and Tom Gilg birding along the east end of Belts Rd., so they might yet report
if the Lark Sparrow stuck around.
The several Grasshopper Sparrows which have been singing in that area were
seemingly being quiet by then. Now that the weather is getting warmer and
they're getting farther along in their nesting cycle, Grasshopper Sparrows
likely won't sing as late into the day as they were doing in previous weeks.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
