Greetings birders - 
This evening, while strolling through the Richfield Coliseum grasslands, I found an adult LE CONTE'S SPARROW in the sedge/cattail/reed bed in the middle of the large tract of grasslands. Gabe Leidy was ironically in the area, sipping cider at a local farmer's market, and was able to drop by, and we luckily re-found the bird. In years past this grassland has been marshy and flooded, but this year dry because of a low water table and lack of rain. The habitat (vegetation) still exists, however. Sparrows were VERY few and far between, with only a single Savannah and two Swamp Sparrows. A handful of Eastern Meadowlarks and a single Red-shouldered Hawk strafing the grasslands completed the quiet bird life of the location. While the habitat is not optimal since there's a lack of water, clearly it is still supporting appropriate vegetation for this species and likely Nelson's Sparrow. It can be tricky to access this spot and viewing conditions can also be difficult. 
PHOTOS of the Le Conte's Sparrow from the Coliseum: http://www.jenbrumfield.com/?page_id=384
Western Cuyahoga Audubon's directions to the Richfield Coliseum grasslands: http://www.wcasohio.org/richfield_grasslands.htm
Best of birding - Jen


Jen Brumfield 
[log in to unmask]
Cleveland, Ohio
330-701-6452

Bird Illustrator / www.jenbrumfield.com





                                          
______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]