Returning Friends and Other Rarities - 14 Oct 2026
The Nelson's Sparrows at Sterling State Park were not seen yesterday, so I was curious if they were still around. I also wanted to bike the park to see if any Nelson's Sparrows could be seen in the SW corner of the west marsh. Skies were cloudy this morning, and it was drizzling lightly when I arrived at 8:30 am but it was supposed to clear and hit 80ºF today. I parked in the same spot from two days ago and walked the mowed path down to the water's edge of the big pond where I found two other birders. They hadn't seen any Nelson's Sparrows in their 2-hr effort. I made a quick walk through the area and saw the usual mix of White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows . I'd return to the bike path and walk back to the car to get the bike. Along the way I came upon a dozen Dark-eyed Juncos. My first "flock" of juncos of the season. Welcome back my little friends. Juncos are some of my favorite sparrows; I look forw...