Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow

On our way down to North Carolina for some pelagic birding, we made a few stops in Delaware to look for Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow--a small sparrow with an orange breast with brown streaks that would be a new species for my friends from Montana.

Our first stop was the boardwalk at Bombay Hook NWR. Despite dozens of Seaside Sparrows flying around and perching close by, we couldn't come up with any Saltmarsh Sparrows (Isn't that a better name, BTW?).

Then we headed down to the Dupont Nature Center, and after two hours of searching the marsh there we finally got a fifteen second look at one Saltmarsh Sparrow looking at us in some short grass. Unfortunately, only two of us saw it, so one of my friends had to leave without the desired lifer. No fun, that!