Despite the impending arrival of a nor'easter today the birding was fantastic and I managed to add a new species to my Hampshire County list, bringing the total species I have seen in the county to 310. I was out birding in the Ware area (more on that below) and was on my way to another spot in Belchertown when I got a text from Ted saying he found an unusual sparrow in Northampton. Normally I would stop my birding and go chasing a rarity unless it is a rare warbler or a new species for me in the county and with the sparrow being a potential new species for me I made my way over after dropping some items at the house. I then made the ride over and found Ted and Scott at the location but without any sightings of the sparrow. The species is very tough to get looks at as it stays hidden most of the time and is more likely to move through the grasses like a mouse instead of flying to a new location. We walked around the area for nearly an hour before we flushed it a couple times where it would fly a short distance and then settle back down out of sight. I did see it scurrying through the grasses once but otherwise the bird stayed hidden from view most of the time. During our search for the bird we also had a Nelson's Sparrow pop up and land briefly at the edge of the corn and I got a few marginal photos. Two rare sparrows in one spot was really cool to see. The area is in a private area of the meadows and for that reason I will not be reporting it right away to eBird and will not include specific locations. The sparrow was the third new species I have added to my Hampshire County list so far this year with the two others being a White Ibis and a Stilt Sandpiper.
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