A western sparrow down east

Seeing a bird rare to a region is generally a rare occurrence. When I saw the Varied Thrush on Sunday, I had no expectation of an encore performance. But here I was, looking at my second mega-rarity (for Maine) in a week!

Tuesday, College of the Atlantic student (and INCREDIBLE birder) Nathan Dubrow texted me about a Brewer’s Sparrow at his Bar Harbor feeders. What the heck was a bird that belongs west of the Mississippi River doing in Maine? By the time I arrived, the bird had not been seen in hours. DRAT!

This morning, Nathan texted me yet again to say it was back. Luck was with me!

As I drove to public parking a block away, I spied a birder hunched under the weight of binoculars and a bazooka of a camera. “I wonder if he is on it” was the first thought to go through my head. Three minutes later, I was standing next to Colby College ornithology professor Louis Bevier (he of the hunched figure) who was looking at the bird.

This was the second time Louis made finding a rare bird easy for me. In 2016, a Black-throated Sparrow was found by Ed & Deb Hawkes (of Sunday’s Varied Thrush fame) and Chuck Whitney during the Schoodic Christmas Bird Count. I was furiously preparing for trip to the Antarctic and couldn’t chase it. Finally, a week after it was first seen, my wife Natalie Springuel was taking me to the Bangor International Airport via Winter Harbor to look for the sparrow. I had exactly 15 minutes to spare. As we drove down the residential road frequented by the Black-throated Sparrow, there was Louis. I jumped out of the car and Louis got me on the bird within minutes (thank you, Louis!).

Now, here we are, nearly five years later, and once again, Louis got me right on a really good bird. It was late in the afternoon, the light was not great for photography, but I managed excellent looks through my binoculars. And some pretty crappy photos.

Brewer’s Sparrows have no business being in Maine. In fact, this is the third official Maine record for Maine. Friday is the end of fall term at College of the Atlantic. I hope Nathan has made arrangements to keep his feeder stocked. Maybe the sparrow will stick around….