Over the past four-plus seasons, twelve species of the Emberizidae family have been banded at the station. Five were added last year alone-Savannah, Field, Seaside, Nelson's Sharp-tailed and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed. Swamp Sparrow numbers are annually among the top five birds banded at First Landing. Slate-colored Junco, Eastern Towhee, Fox, Song and White-throated are banded in good numbers annually. Lincoln's Sparrow is banded infrequently.
Last Saturday a bright Chipping Sparrow expanded the group to thirteen. Although the Chipper is a frequent spring visitor to feeders in the Virginia Beach area, the pine forest and wetlands around the station are not "prime" Chipper habitat. Read more about this sparrow here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Chipping_Sparrow.html
Of the North American sparrows likely to be encountered along the Atlantic coast during the spring, only the White-crowned Sparrow has yet to be banded at First Landing.
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