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Historic Status

If ever a bird suffered an identity problem in the eyes of humanity, it is the Vesper Sparrow. The species has been variously known through the years as Grass Finch, Bay-winged Bunting, and Bay-winged Sparrow before its current name was finally established. By whatever appellation, the species was once relatively common in Massachusetts and was known to the early settlers who cleared the forests to make farm fields. Modern observers are given pause by Edward Howe Forbush’s early twentieth century description of the species as “next to the Song Sparrow, the most abundant Ground Sparrow in Massachusetts,” (Forbush 1907). Vesper Sparrows began a slow decline in the 1940s, when the effects of farm abandonment became increasingly apparent.

Atlas 1 Distribution

By the time of Atlas 1, Vesper Sparrows were still broadly distributed across the state of Massachusetts.  However, their actual breeding sites were diffuse and scattered, and they were only found in 53 blocks, or 6% of the state. All the regions west of the Connecticut River Valley combined yielded only 6 Probable breeding sites. The Connecticut River Valley itself supported among the highest block occupancy rates by far at 30%, thanks to its abundance of large pastures and other agricultural habitats. The sparrows were present but quite local as breeders across the Worcester Plateau and the Coastal Plains, appearing only at the largest farms, airfields, or open coastal heathlands. The Boston Basin had no grasslands of suitable size, and the Bristol/Narragansett Lowlands reported only a single occupied block. The Cape and Islands supported 25% of the statewide occupied blocks, mostly concentrated in extensive sandplain heathlands and grasslands.

Atlas 2 Distribution and Change

How the mighty have fallen! The Vesper Sparrow was recorded in just 2% (21) of all surveyed blocks in Atlas 2, despite thousands of hours of effort to locate their breeding areas across Massachusetts, and despite their status as a Threatened Species in the state. The Vesper Sparrow population was already vanishing In Atlas 1, but by Atlas 2 the species had reached a critical point. Despite scattered records throughout the state, this grassland nester now maintains only two historic strongholds: the Connecticut River Valley and Cape Cod. Both regions have apparently, however, become unable to sustain the species, judging by the negative trends in its distribution.

Atlas 1 Map

Atlas 2 Map

Atlas Change Map