Swamp Sparrows are a winter visitor to Oregon; they do not appear in the
Oregon Breeding Bird Atlas.
Swamp Sparrows are more commonly found on the west side of the state.
ECAS Records:
The records kept by Chuck Gates on the ECAS website list Swamp Sparrow as:
-- a state rarity in 13 western Oregon counties
-- a county rarity in Curry, Josephine, and Linn counties
-- and with no rarity designation only in Lane and Coos counties
In eastern Oregon the website list Swamp Sparrow as:
-- a state rarity in 13 eastern Oregon counties
-- a county rarity in Jefferson and Sherman counties
-- and the species is not listed at all for Gilliam, Wheeler, and Grant
counties
Personal records:
My personal records show sightings in 10 western Oregon counties and only
one eastern Oregon county.
I do not find the species every year; I've only found them 8 of the last 20
years.
I do not have an ear for their call note, and they are skulkers. I often
only find one when I seek a bird reported by someone else.
Yamhill county records:
Tom Love began a master list of the Birds of Yamhill County years ago. He
handed it off to Carol Karlen. Now I am the keeper of that list. There are
3 reports: Oct 2003, Dec 2017, Jan 2019. A check of eBird reports show that
these three reports were logged into eBird, and there are no other reports.
Good birding,
Paul Sullivan
