11/04 2021 White-throated Sparrow

Sunday 11th April 2021

Recreation Ground

Barcombe

East Sussex

A White-throated Sparrow, from the USA, has been around my locality since February 2021 but because of the "stay at home" lockdown advice, I have been unable to go and see it.  Thankfully it stayed and I was able to make the trip yesterday. Boy was the wait worth it.

A recreation ground on a sunny Sunday afternoon is not the ideal birding viewing position and there was certainly lots of activity with families using the facility.  

Despite the noise and the proximity of the patrons, I managed to enjoy fabulous views.  I even had time to ring Martin and invite him down to see this lovely visitor.

courtesy of James King and Twitter

courtesy of Ray O'Reilly and Twitter

• White-throated sparrows breed in central Canada and New England. They nest either on the ground under shrubs or low in trees in deciduous or mixed forest areas and lay three to five brown-marked blue or green-white eggs.
• In winter, this species migrates to the southern and eastern United States. They are differential migrants with females migrating farther, increasing the proportion of females at lower latitudes in the Atlantic flyway.
• It stays year round in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. 
• This bird is a rare vagrant to western Europe. 
• Alongside some other species such as the cardinal, dark-eyed junco, song sparrow and chickadees, this species ranks among the most abundant native birds during winter in eastern North America.

Not a "lifer" - I have seen them in the USA - but a first for me in the UK.