I received an email from Pat yesterday. She and Marian had an odd sparrow, apparently of the genus Ammodramus, at Biddeford Pool yesterday. They thought it was a Grasshopper Sparrow. But, I could tell from Pat’s email that she was not completely convinced. It’s extremely late for any member of the genus, but her description certainly fit a Grasshopper.

So, this morning, Eric and I met Pat and Marian down at the Pool to hopefully relocate and confirm the bird’s identification. Pat and Marian led us to the spot, and all the sudden a small sparrow flushes off the dirt two track, and lands in a small bush. Buffy face, neck, and breast. Bright yellow supraloral area; white median crown stripe; large pale bill; flat head. The back and wings were mottled black, brown, rufous, and gray. Yup, Grasshopper Sparrow. We enjoyed the bird for about a half hour before we left it to enjoy a bit of millet we left behind.

While Grasshopper Sparrows can be found in the summer at nearby Kennebunk Plains and a few other scattered locations around that state, it is a great bird for the month of December. (However, I do admit that I was hoping that Pat was wrong and we would get there to see a LeConte’s Sparrow or something even better!) It’s always fascinating to me to see something so far out of season. Did this bird come from the western populations? Did it just linger in Maine since September? (Funny, it didn’t answer. . . so I guess we’ll never know.)

Eric and I then birded a bit longer around the area. Two 1st winter Razorbills were right off the rocks at East Point Sanctuary, in perfect light. Three Ruddy Turnstones joined over 40 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, and a big female Cooper’s Hawk hunted the woods. A lone female Greater Scaup was off of Ocean Ave, while a female Sharp-shinned Hawk hunted feeder birds in the neighborhood.