FIRST RECORD OF Le CONTE'S SPARROW IN OREGON

Abstract

Gilligan spotted Oregon's first Le Conte's Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii) while birding with Schmidt, Irons, and Smith on 27 September 1983, in the tiny oasis town of Fields, Harney County. We first saw the bird around 0900 in 3-meter-high willows (Salix sp.) along the creek that flows through town. These trees were filled with migrating passerines, including a Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) and a Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida), both vagrants in Oregon. The record has been submitted to the Oregon Bird Records Committee.