I'm hoping the Ben Warner will add to this discussion, but our O Shaunessey
CBC group also had savannah sparrows - foraging with other sparrow species
along the plowed and melting roadways in open farm country.  I think we had
8 in all.  We also had a few horned larks and a single lapland longspur.
All of these birds were found foraging along the roadways.

Margaret Bowman
Licking Co., OH

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Pendleton
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2013 7:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Savannah Sparrow winter habitat

A few comments after reading Rob Royse's post about the Savannah Sparrows
along an icy shoreline.
Needless to say, here in the reclaimed grasslands SAVS are ubiquitous in the
spring, summer and
fall. Smaller numbers are also present all winter long. What I have noticed
after walking miles of
grass, is they have three distinct seasonal habitats: Spring arrivals tend
to be found in shorter grass
with small (<6") openings, breeding birds tend to be found in the tall thick
grass. In August when
they molt they appear to have a post breeding mini-migration and tend to be
found in the spring
habitat. From mid to late October until March, I can only find them around
they lakes that have had
some evaporation, feeding along the open banks and the plant growth that
pops up after the water
recedes.
His number of ten was surprising but not where he found them. I would be
interested in knowing if
anyone else has observed lakeside foraging in wintering SAVS.
Scott Pendleton

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