By Sally Siko

Happy to catch up with a pair of Bachman’s Sparrows this morning while Birding at the Carver’s Creeks State Park near Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Although I’ve heard the species singing before, I have never laid eyes on one until today which was very exciting!
I located the birds by their song which is very loud. In fact I nearly stepped right on top of one that was chirping from a pile of pine straw underfoot.
Then I got tremendously lucky as the sparrow flew up into a small tree, and began to sing right in front of me.
So cool!

Although they are found year-round in North Carolina, the Bachman’s Sparrow is a species in decline due to habitat loss. They strongly prefer habitats containing stands of old growth Longleaf Pines and are most often spotted on the ground hunting for a meal in tufts of dense Wiregrass and oak shrubbery.
They once nested and all of our southeast counties, but today are mainly found in the Sandhills region of the central portion of the state.
Nest sites within areas burned the previous 12 months are highly favorable
so it’s useful to look for them in areas where prescribed burns are regularly scheduled.
Bachman’s sparrows also use recently planted clear-cuts and young pine plantations of longleaf, loblolly, shortleaf, slash pines where native grasses dominate the ground cover and perches are available. Alternatively, they will occupy relatively grassy open fields and prairie sites with extensive grass for hiding, especially in the southern US from Florida to Louisiana.

Though this species is very difficult to see (due to the fact that they spend most of their time hiding in dense grass) spotting one of these beauties is incredibly rewarding if your
patient enough to wait for one to pop out and start singing from a sapling.
I know not everybody cares about sparrows, but I think that they are just lovely!

New for this year I’m offering birding tours in the Sandhills, so if you’d like to see a Bachman’s Sparrow too (along with a whole bunch of other gorgeous birds!), check out the calendar link below to book your date today.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5