Birdwatching The lark sparrow: Yet another rarity finds its way to the Peninsula

Published 10:06 am Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Haven’t we been lucky these past few years? Rarities have been finding their way to the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and other areas of the Peninsula. At the end of January, a rare lark sparrow visited a feeder in our area. It is the third winter record for Washington and a first for the refuge.

According to birding expert, Ryan Merrill, the lark sparrow is rare anytime of the year in Western Washington.

The lark sparrow is about as long as a half sub sandwich, making it larger than most other sparrows. It has a long neck and a long black tail. This bird has a very striking head pattern. Its breast is whitish with a black, central spot, and its long black tail with white corners is distinctive.

It is a bird of the farmland, roadsides and short grassy areas like lawns where it forages for seeds and insects. It walks on the ground. It does not hop like other sparrows. The only time that the lark sparrow hops is during its courtship ritual.

Many lark sparrows don’t build their own nest, preferring instead to use an old mockingbird or thrasher nest. If the sparrow does build a nest it will be on the ground or in a small shrub. In any case, it is likely to be close to the ground or on it.

If our lark sparrow blew in on the wings of a recent storm, it could appear at other feeders on the Peninsula. I, for one, will be checking my feeders and the ground below for the sparrow with the boldly patterned, brown, black-and-white head and the long black tail with white corners!