I stopped by the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh N.C. earlier this week in preparation for a trip I’ve got scheduled here for the end of the month. I hadn’t visited here in a few weeks and wanted to see what kinds of birds were in the area now that winter has arrived in earnest.

Happily there were lots of colorful feathered gems flying around from Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Brown headed Nuthatches and Starlings, to Cardinals, Kinglets and Blue Jays. One of my favorites though were the Fox Sparrows.

The Fox Sparrow is a small bird that I don’t see very often during the winter which is a shame because they’re quite pretty!
With 18 different subspecies of Fox Sparrow, as a group their plumage varies widely in the Western Hemisphere.
Some are grayish brown in color, others are reddish toned while the remaining are a mix of the two hues with varying degrees of color intensity.
Here in North Carolina, the subspecies we encounter during the wintertime is the Red variety. They are aptly named with a broad rust red or dark brown streaking on their back and underparts, a bright russet reddish rump and tail, reddish brown wings and grey tones on the sides of their neck, which contrast nicely with their rusty brown ear coverts.
This warm reddish brown plumage suits their needs well as remain pretty well camouflaged in the leaves and brush when foraging for a meal.

With the first photograph in this post, I just got lucky as this bird was actually perched in a tree nearby offering me a clear view.
The second photograph shown below is more typical of how I usually find these little ones, hiding behind a tangle of grass and briers.

Look for them in wide open deep grass fields feeding on the ground. It can be tough to find them since they tend to be a bit shy so try pishing to draw them out of the thick stuff for a moment or two to get a proper look.
They will stick around N.C. until late March or early April so there is still plenty of time for you to see one in the coming months 🙂

By the way, I’ve got a trip scheduled to the Prairie Ridge Ecostation at the end of January. If you’d like to join me you may do so by clicking on the trip detail page listed in the tour links below.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds