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Historic Status

Even during the heyday of agriculture in Massachusetts, Savannah Sparrows were considered rare in comparison to Song Sparrows, and they were described as “most common near the sea,” (Peabody 1839). Farmlands, however, certainly offered these buzzy little songsters homes all across Massachusetts. Near the beginning of the twentieth century, Forbush listed it as breeding “along river valleys, in upland meadows, fertile fields and pastures,” (Forbush 1907), and suggested that it was common in favorable habitat in the Berkshires, the Connecticut River Valley, and along the coastline. Through time, as grasslands vanished, it seemed likely that the species might decline in the state. Curiously, no such population disintegration was reported in the state’s rich ornithological literature during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century.

Atlas 1 Distribution

As Massachusetts was leaving its agricultural history by the wayside in Atlas 1, Savannah Sparrows were still breeding across the state in scattered patches wherever there was favorable habitat, occupying about 25% of the state. The patterns of occupancy were patchy; the high meadows of the Berkshire Highlands and the rolling pastures of the Marble Valleys both exceed 50% block occupancy. In the Connecticut River Valley, Savannah Sparrows were present in 61% of the blocks, but their breeding activity was much more scattered in the Worcester and Lower Worcester Plateau regions. In the Coastal Plains, most Savannah Sparrow records were concentrated near eastern Essex County. The sandy, scrubby habitats of the Cape and Islands were particularly hospitable to Savannah Sparrows in Atlas 1, especially on the Outer Cape and in the sandplain grasslands of Nantucket.

Atlas 2 Distribution and Change

Given the disappearance of grassland and field habitats in the state, one would predict that Savannah Sparrows are declining, but they appear to be doing just the opposite. Although in some regions (e.g., Cape Cod and the Islands, and Bristol/Narragansett Lowlands), they have disappeared from more blocks than they have colonized, in most other regions they have appeared in more places than they have abandoned, and have upped their statewide block occupancy to 41%. They showed notable growth in the Taconics, Vermont Piedmont, Berkshire Transition, and Boston Basin ecoregions, and also grew in all other regions, except those in the southeast. In an age when most grassland nesters are obviously declining in Massachusetts, the plucky little Savannah Sparrow is showing a notably increasing footprint.

Atlas 1 Map

Atlas 2 Map

Atlas Change Map