Harris’s sparrow at Southside Riverfront Park, 11 May 2026 (photo by Steve Gosser)

12 May 2026

Yesterday I went birding twice: In the morning to find the Lincoln’s sparrows (yes, I saw two!) and in early afternoon at Bigbee Field with Jeff Cieslak to watch the Downtown peregrines through my scope. Meanwhile far below us at Southside Riverfront Park, Dan Wyrostek was taking a break at a picnic table when he saw an incredibly rare bird, a Harris’s sparrow, the second one ever recorded in Allegheny County, PA.

Harris’s sparrows (Zonotrichia querula) breed in north central Canada and winter in the Great Plains but two individual birds out of range “Wowed” birders yesterday in both Pittsburgh and at Magee Marsh Boardwalk. (marked on the map with pink Xs)

Range map of Harris’s sparrow from Wikimedia

Dan added many photos to his eBird checklist — I’ve embedded four below — and posted his find on the Allegheny County Rare Bird Alert at 2:46pm.

By sunset 34 eBirders had seen the bird. At one point 15 people were there to see it.

Meanwhile at Magee Marsh Boardwalk a Harris’s Sparrow attracted a huge crowd who jostled for a view. Chris Saladin posted her photo of the Ohio bird on Facebook under the title: Harris’s Sparrow and Considerate Birding (5-11-26).

Harris’s sparrow at Magee Marsh Boardwalk, 11 May 2026 (photo by Chris Saladin)

One good sparrow deserves another. I saw Lincoln’s yesterday. I’m going to look for the Harris’s sparrow today. Fingers crossed that it’s still there.

Update on 12 May at 12:45pm:

• SUCCESS! I saw the Harris’s sparrow this morning at Southside Riverfront Park.
• BONUS! ANOTHER RARE SPARROW: A clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) is continuing (since yesterday) next to the Mister Rogers Memorial on the North Shore. Clay-coloreds are related to chipping sparrows. Here’s what one looks like, photo from Wikimedia.

Clay-colored sparrow at a feeder (photo from Wikimedia)

A note about migration trends: Last night (11 May) bird migration out of Pittsburgh was suppressed by north and northeast winds (top map is purple in PA). Tonight migration will be intense (bottom map is yellow and orange) so I expect many birds to leave, maybe the Harris’s and clay-colored sparrows among them.

BirdCast’s Bird Migration Forecasts for 11 & 12 May 2026 (accessed on 20260512 at 7am ET), birdcast.org, Univ. of Illinois, Purdue & Cornell Lab of Ornithology