Daily Bird: Lapland Longspur

Lapland Longspur. Photo by Christina Cole.

Lapland Longspur
Calcarius lapponicus

January 15, 2021 — Each winter, uncommon avian visitors from the north appear in open habitats such as fallow farm fields, coastal beaches, grasslands, and dunes.

Among these winter visitors may be the Lapland Longspur, a small songbird in the family Emberizidae – a taxonomic category composed of certain finches, American sparrows, towhees, buntings, and New World sparrows.

Lapland Longspurs breed in wet meadows and grassy hummocks of the Arctic tundra. Their winter range extends much wider – in North America, it covers most of the lower 48 states. They typically begin to appear in Connecticut by mid to late October, stay through much of the winter, then depart by the end of March.

They’re not always here but if they are, visit coastal locations with open expanses of grassland, dunes, sand barrens or other open ruderal habitats. They’re often with Horned Larks or Snow Buntings, foraging for wind-blown weed seeds.

It’s sparrow-like
The Lapland Longspur has a similar size, shape and actions as other sparrows that forage in open habitats, making it somewhat of an identification challenge for beginner birders in our area. This is because these birds are typically not sporting their breeding plumage when visiting during winter months. Instead they are more drably colored in the streaky earth-tone rust and browns of their sparrow cousins. Look for dark bordered auriculars (the feathers behind the eyes covering the ears), dark streaking on the flanks, and usually some amount of rufous on the nape or tertials.

Occasionally one may be found lingering into late winter or may stop by while passing through during its northbound spring migration, rewarding birders with a view of its more striking breeding plumage.

A Snow Bunting, left, with a Lapland Longspur. The species are often found together on Connecticut’s beaches in winter. Photo by Christina Cole.

The Milford Point Coastal Center (1 Milford Point Road, Milford) is a good place to look for this uncommon winter visitor. Other productive spots in the past have been the grassy field near the Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison and the gravelly parking lot or grassy fields at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

Small numbers have been seen in recent weeks at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, and Long Beach and Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford.