Unofficial Big Days – Sparrow Big Days

For more than three decades the Howard County Bird Club (HBBC) has paid special attention to sparrows. The first field trip with that focus was October 15, 1989 to the University of Maryland Central Farm (UMDCF) led by Scott Atkinson. These half day trips continued intermittently in the 1990s and early 2000s to various locations led by David Holmes, Nancy Magnusson, Bonnie Ott, and Jim Wilkinson. Beginning in 2003 and continuing through 2012 more intense trips were planned to multiple sites, sometimes for an entire day, in an attempt to locate as many sparrow species as possible. These 10 trips were designated as Sparrow Big Days under the leadership of Bonnie Ott, and they followed the unofficial format of other unofficial HCBC Big Days. From 2013 – 2016, less intensive sparrow field trips were offered. Trips that were not unofficial Big Days were variously titled “Sparrow Search,” “Spectacular Sparrows,” or “Sparrow Extravaganza” and usually ended by noon.

With the 2015 field trip, the unofficial Sparrow Big Days came to an end, although half-day sparrow trips continued for several more years. In thinking about the decade of annual trips, Bonnie mused, “I was recalling the landfill in 2013 when everyone was grumbling about going up the last hill and [then] we flushed the Short-eared Owl. It makes you realize how many rarities that were not sparrows were seen on these trips.”

For birders who are addicted to Big Days, it is never just the total number of species on any list, it is also the camaraderie, the anticipation, the search, and the thrill of discovery. There is always the hope that just over the rise or at the top of the next hill there will be a Short-eared Owl—or something even better!