Lexington

Habitat and Birds

Small towns in Morrow County provide migrants with sought after resting places. Fall, winter, and spring provide opportunities to find rare birds in these locations and their limited size allows for thorough coverage in a short period of time. It may be fruitful to drive outlying gravel roads through the agricultural lands. In spring and summer, look for Grasshopper Sparrows in weedy fields. In spring and fall, watch for migrant warblers, buntings, sparrows, and other passerines. In winter, check pastures and feedlots along Highway 74 for large flocks of blackbirds – most will be Brewer’s and Red-wings but Yellow-headed and Tricolored Blackbirds are fairly regular in these big congregations. Winter rarities here might include Snowy Owls, Bohemian Waxwings, longspurs, Snow Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, or even Common Redpoll. (Don’t expect to find any of these but you never know). Few birders visit these regions so please publish your findings if you happen to be in one of these remote locations.