Henslow’s Sparrow at Circleville Farms, Centre County, PA

On September 22nd, Joe Verica reported seeing a very cooperative Henslow’s Sparrow at Circleville Farms. A few of us went searching for it, but couldn’t find it. Then on September 24th, Mike Dreibelbis reported that he found one there as well. Drew Weber went birding there on October 4th, and was also able to find an extremely cooperative Henslow’s Sparrow. Nate Fronk, Josh Lefever, and I went this morning, determined to find this sparrow. We arrived at Circleville Farms at 7:00am, and there was a ton of bird activity, but we didn’t see anything near where Drew, Joe, and Mike had had the Henslow’s. Finally around 7:35am, Nate said he heard a sparrow in a clump of plants in the general area where the Henslow’s had been and sure enough, sitting in plain sight, was a stunning adult Henslow’s Sparrow. Nate, Josh, and I spent the next 30 minutes watching the bird perch at the top of plants, singing. On two occasions the Henslow’s chased off a Song Sparrow. The bird was extremely tame and allowed us to approach very close for photos. If you are a birder within a reasonable drive of Centre County, I urge you to COME SEE THIS BIRD! It is very, very cooperative! Below are a sample of the 200+ photos I took of the bird this morning.

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms

Henslow's Sparrow - adult at Circleville Farms