Month: December 2024

Harris’s Sparrow

December 16, 2024

I’m fascinated with Harris’s Sparrows. They have a unique look (has a black bib and pink bill), and while common in Arkansas, they are not easy to find. At least for me.

I got my first look at one during the recent Lonoke County Christmas Bird Count. We were driving down a narrow country road when we spotted a flock of sparrows on the road and ditchway ahead of us. That flock included one lone Harris’s Sparrow.

The Harris’s Sparrow is North America’s largest sparrow except for towhees. AllAboutBirds.org reports that it is the only songbird that breeds in Canada and nowhere else in the world. It breeds in the tundra/boreal zones of northern Canada, while wintering from Nebraska to Texas and migrating through the central United States.

A Swift Visit

December 2, 2024

A few weeks ago, a friend and I visited the Hot Springs National Park after receiving an eBird rare bird report of a White-throated Swift being sighted at the Hot Springs Mountain Tower.

The trip was unsuccessful, and we gave it no further thought. Until now, when someone, once again, reported seeing the swift. We decided to give it another try. Luck was on our side.

The White-throated Swift was flying just below the observation desk level and steadily flying around its presumed roost area at dawn and again just before dusk. I only saw one swift each time, but other birdwatchers discovered at least one more in the days following my visit.

Typically found in the cliffs and canyon walls of western North America, the White-throated Swift is an extremely rare visitor to Arkansas. This is the fifth-reported sighting of one in the state since 1935. They are also highly social creatures and sleep in roosts of hundreds of birds. This just makes our sighting even more interesting.