By Sally Siko

Had a window of free time this morning so I took a quick trip up to Dix Park in Raleigh to see if I could find a Clay colored Sparrow which had been reported there this past week. It took some walking but eventually I finally got a good look at this rare (for the region) species with a couple other birders (shoutout to Adam & Davon!). Woohoo!

Why is it a special thing to see this bird here in North Carolina? Well, normally the range of the Clay-colored Sparrow stretches from central Canada, down through the Midwest states of the central US into Texas and northern Mexico which means this little guy is well out of his range. It’s not a state record however, since increasing numbers of Clay-colored Sparrows have been showing up in North Carolina since the 1980s. When they do show up, usually they are found during the wintertime in our eastern counties so seeing one here in the central part of the state was pretty cool!

As was the case today, these little ones are most often found with groups of Field Sparrows and Song Sparrows, usually lurking in brush piles, hedgerows, weedy fields, and in the tangled margins of open fields. In fact it was easier to find this Clay-colored by looking for a flock of Field Sparrows making their way around the margins of the sunflower field which ended up being the key to locating the bird.

If you’d like to go see this bird for yourself, I’ve included a Google Maps pin drop link of its location next to the parking lot at Dix Park in Raleigh.

Happy birding!