Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Clay-colored Sparrow 2011

The highlight of my team's Spring Bird Count, besides a 19 species of warblers, was finding this Clay-colored Sparrow at Lyman Woods in Downers Grove.  It was the only species that we had to document, since it was not expected to be found at this site.  CCSP is a common bird in dry uncultivated brush of the northern prairies.  It has probably benefited from the effects of human settlement and disruption of prairie fires, which has resulted in declining grassland habitat and increasing shrubs and trees in the northern Great Plains.  CCSP is briefly present but rare in the Chicago wilderness during migration. 

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