Chapman’s Landing, Stratham, NH, 22nd June, 2005.

Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Ammodramus nelsoni. These images are presumed to show the Atlantic coastal form A.n.subvirgatus, though, at this stage, I’m not sure how I would rule out the possibility of a hybrid with Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. However, I found these birds rich in their buff tones around the head with well a defined tawny-buff band across the breast. The actual breast streaking was more subtle than the Saltmarsh sp., appearing as soft, blurry, grayish streaks on the breast and flanks.  I struggled to find these amongst large numbers of the Saltmarsh sp. but eventually found two that I thought looked like good candidates for Nelson’s. The birds were perhaps brighter than I might have expected for A.n. subvirgatus.

The bird below is a second individual, rather bright buff but with very few streaks across the breast which was observed in the field, but is rather difficult to see in these shots.

View images of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows

View images of interior form of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow in Keene, NH, 2004.

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