ML43754401

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Sparrow seen feeding on the ground with American tree sparrows and northern cardinals under some feeders at the 2nd house along Maple Ridge Road south of Wyman Bog Road. Description that follows is based on the photos below: Bold black, white, and reddish-brown facial pattern with a white streak along the length of the crown. Otherwise crown reddish-brown. Dark malar stripe. Grey chest and belly with a conspicuous black spot. White undertail coverts. Dark streaks on the mantle. Dark eye. Partial white around the eye--particularly under it (a bit hard to see given the dim light). Brownish back with some whitish markings including one wing bar. Photos below were taken at ISO 6400 due to the low light. I used a 400 mm lens at f/5.6. Seen in low light on an overcast afternoon 5-10 minutes after sunset. The bird flew off with the tree sparrows at 16:07. First they went into bushes along the side of the road, then east across the road into some maples, and then farther east across a field where I lost sight of them. There were two people in a car along the road looking for the bird when I arrived. The sparrow wasn't visible at the time and there were only a small number of birds at the feeders. Within seconds of when the car left, the number of birds on the ground under the feeders increased several fold as I watched while standing across the road to the east. The lesson may be that your chances to see the birds could be better if you keep back a bit.

Technical information

Dimensions

390 pixels x 310 pixels

Original file size

124.21 KB