Golden-crowned Sparrow

In the top ten of most wanted to see birds on our Washington trip was the Golden-crowned Sparrow. I had seen photos that others had taken and decided I needed to see one up close and personal.

We didn't see a lot of them but they were found in several locations throughout the week. The first possible sighting was a small flock quickly crossing the road as we went around Brady Loop toward Ocean Shores. They dashed into some blackberry bushes and refused to come back up for a positive ID.

So, I would have to wait until my Dungeness hike to find them for sure. It was a cold, windy morning but at the edge of the bluff near the entrance to the park there were a lot of Golden-crowned Kinglets and just beyond them the sparrows appeared.

Unlike the Kinglets, which flitted around and past my head so fast I could not get a got photo, the sparrows were a little more bold and stopped out on the grass to peck at seeds. It was the best place to get a shot of the male to show the crown.



So, a definite ID and bird added to the list. We found one more flock the next day out at Nisqually. The males were ahead of the females and did not want to pose here. A female did stop in a small tree in the marsh and seemed to freeze as if trying to hide from me. It stopped long enough for a closer shot.



I would like some better chances for photos, of course, but it was nice to see them several times in different habitats.

Now I needed to find a Fox Sparrow...