Two rare winter birds appear in the Lehigh Valley

Harris's Sparrow in Missouri

Two more wintertime visitors have arrived in the Lehigh Valley—and both are unusual ones. A Harris's Sparrow was seen from November 17 through at least November 21 in Williams Township, Northampton County. A Lapland Longspur was seen through November 14 on Smith Lane, near Alburtis in Lehigh County.

Both species breed in Canada and winter in the United States but the Harris's Sparrow is a special case. Usually it favors the prairies from the Dakotas to Texas for the winter; it rarely is seen east of the Mississippi River.

Sightings of Harris's Sparrows have been recorded only four times in the Lehigh Valley since 2001. The locations included Seemsville, Moorestown and Upper Mount Bethel, all in Northampton County, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, the guidebook of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. This is now the fifth reported sighting.

Harris's Sparrow in Arkansas in February 2011

A single Harris's Sparrow was seen on Monday as it ate millet seed that had been spread on a residential driveway. Sightings occurred each day during the week, including one in which the bird bathed in a creek on the homeowner's property. By Friday it was eating at bird feeders along with other sparrows.

During the summer, Harris's Sparrows breed in the scrub forests and mossy bogs of northern Canada, ranging from the western shores of Hudson Bay to the entire Northwest Territories. So remote is this territory that no ornithologist had seen a nest until 1931.

In Canada, the sparrow scratches through leaves and soil for insects, spiders and snails, and eats weed seeds, berries, and flower buds and blossoms. In its winter range, it is a seed-eater. 

The strikingly handsome bird is easily distinguished from our commonest sparrow, the House Sparrow. The adult Harris's Sparrow is about 7½ inches tall, a full inch taller than the male House Sparrow. 

Lapland Larkspur

The Harris's Sparrow a black throat, crown and chest. Its bill is pink; its face is gray. The white abdomen has spotted or streaked sides. Immature birds have buff faces and lack the solid black crown, throat and breast. House Sparrows are chunkier, their chests fuller and their tails shorter. The black on the male House Sparrow is confined to its bib. The males have a chestnut-colored neck. Females are streaked brown above and dingy white below.

The Lapland Longspur is a medium-sized sparrow-like bird that breeds in windswept wet meadows, grassy areas and scrub in the Arctic tundra from northern Newfoundland to the Alaskan Aleutians. It's also common to Arctic regions of Europe and Asia. Its winter range stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The bird has a short, thick, pointed bill with a black face and crown, a chestnut-colored nape, white outer tail feathers, a chestnut-colored patch on the wings, streaked sides and smudges on the whitish breast. The wintering male, as well as the female and immature male, are a bit duller. Their size is 6 to 7 inches.

The bird is rarely seen in our region, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity. They may seen one year and then none for several years in a row.

Lapland Longspur

The bird is a forager, walking (rather than hopping) across the ground in search of seeds. They supplement their diet with insects in the breeding season. The Longspur is common and widespread, largely unthreatened by changes in the climate.

The Lapland Longspur breeds in wet areas with birch and willow or on bare mountains. The nest consists of a grass-lined hollow on the ground, concealed under a clump of grass or a scrubby birch. The female lays two to four eggs. The nestlings are fed only insects until they fledge.

During migration, Lapland Longspurs congregate in huge flocks, sometimes of 4 million birds. During snowstorms they can collide with lighted structures such as radio towers, killing thousands in a single night, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says.

Lehigh Valley bird sightings for November 21

In addition to the Harris's Sparrow and the the Lapland Longspur, here are other bird sightings for the period ended November 21. The list was compiled by Dave DeReamus, of the Eastern PA Birdline, which is sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society.

Bethlehem, Northampton County
Peregrine Falcon, 1 on November 18 and 1 on November 20.

Bake Oven Knob, Lehigh County
Bald Eagle, 8 on November 14.
Golden Eagle, 8 on November 14.
Also seen: Pine Siskin, severe fly-bys.

Beltzville State Park, Carbon County
Brant, 1 through November 14.
White-winged Scoter, 1 on November 14.

Green Lane Reservoir, Montgomery County
Bonaparte's Gull, 5 on November 16.
Also seen: Osprey.
At the Church Road area
Rusty Blackbird, 1 on November 16.

Lake Towhee, Bucks County
Trumpeter Swan, 1 through at least November 16.

Peace Valley Park, Bucks County
Seen: Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin and Gray Catbird.

Merrill Creek Reservoir, New Jersey
At Scott's Mountain Hawkwatch
Bald Eagle, 11 on November 18.
Northern Goshawk, 1 on November 20.

To report bird sightings to Dave DeReamus, send an e-mail to becard@rcn.com with the word "Birdline" in the subject heading.