By Sally Siko

One of eastern North Carolina’s most familiar birds is the Savannah Sparrow. I spotted several last weekend while birding at the Alligator River NWR.
Though they’re not the flashiest of species, Savannahs are pretty darn cute and entertaining to watch.

These little guys look similar to other sparrows with brown striping on their breasts so they can be difficult to ID at a distance. The thing to look for is that distinctive yellowish spot on the lore in front of and on top of their eye.They were first named for Savannah, Georgia, (the city in which they were originally identified) yet they boast a wide range stretching from the northern shores of the Arctic Ocean, Canada, the United States and down into the southernmost regions of Mexico.

Like many sparrow species, Savannahs are voracious insect eaters and prefer to forage in habitats of open short grass fields containing piles of scrubby brush.As is the case with this sweet little bird featured in these photos, they also inhabit the canals of our agricultural fields, tidal salt marshes, ponds and estuaries during the winter where the likely-hood of finding a six or eight legged snack near the water is greatly increased.

Look for them in central and eastern North Carolina from September through May and June-August in the mountains of western part of the state.

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