In the two locations where I regularly find Savannah Sparrows in
winter time in the Cincinnati area (they are present all winter) they
are in weedy fields away from water.  In past years at one of the
locations it seems as if they preferred short vegetation (ie less than
12").  However, this year I have found more birds in waist high
vegetation.  I have found them to be very secretive in winter time,
much more so than any of the other regularly occurring sparrows.  They
do not respond to pishing, fly very low when flushed and usually dive
back into the vegetation without perching.  They do occasionally make
contact type calls.  Given the difficulty in finding them I suspect
there are many more around than are reported.
Cheers,
Bill Hull
Cincinnati, OH


On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 7:36 AM, Scott Pendleton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 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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