After watching Duke handle Winston-Salem State last night in an exhibition basketball game I was walking through Krzyzewskiville to meet my dad at the Sheffield Tennis Center when I noticed a small bird fluttering against a ground-level window. I easily caught it by hand and brought it into the light...
![](//1.bp.blogspot.com/-CxKZX3X-Fw8/UJQVs9FAdwI/AAAAAAAAD1g/dk8co7jbXGg/s400/crop3.jpg) |
Grasshopper Sparrow |
...a Grasshopper Sparrow ?!?
I got my brother to snap a few iPhone photos and then let it go...
![](//1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijF21ubRel0/UJQVsXwFeII/AAAAAAAAD1Y/bYA7SmQXRRY/s400/crop2.jpg) |
Grasshopper Sparrow |
The bird was clearly trying to migrate. Perhaps it struck a window and then got against the northwest face of the building.
This was my first ever Grasshopper Sparrow on migration and an exceptionally late one at that. There are only 3 prior eBird records of the species in North Carolina for the month of November.
![](//4.bp.blogspot.com/-qktlBLLKe_M/UJQVsBmijzI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/WNJp6IwfZlw/s400/crop1.jpg) |
Grasshopper Sparrow |
Since birds are known to be portentous (Homer et al., ca. 700 BC), I'll go ahead and declare this to be a good omen for the Duke tennis teams this coming season.