The location where the bird was first found is along Hillcrest Drive beyond a large lobster boat, the Adventurer, on the right hand side of the road. There are several feeders on this street which is attracting the juncos and tree sparrows but the Black-throated Sparrow is more likely to be in the bushes or along the edge of the road. Note there are lots of dogs along this road, some in closed in yards but they will bark when you're on the road. I was warned of a less-than-friendly dog at the farm at the end of the road but that section has a large "no trespassing" sign so I don't think that should be an issue for anyone. Most of the homeowners on this street are now aware of this bird and seem fine with birders lingering along the road but it would be good to make sure cars do not block the road which is narrow and has little-to-no shoulder for parking.
Today the bird was off Ocean Heights Drive which runs parallel along the east side of Hillcrest Drive. I first flushed the bird and two juncos from the side of Barnacle Lane, an extension of Ocean Heights, and they lingered in the row of bushes at the end of Barnacle - this borders a small field along the east side of Ocean Heights. They were last seen foraging under a large solar panel on the edge of that field, visible when you first pull onto Ocean Heights. The Black-throated Sparrow seemed to be following the juncos around and gave very high call notes when perched; quiet while foraging. This road has a lot more houses than Hillcrest and even less parking so please be respectful of private property. It may be better to park in town and take the short walk to these roads.
For those interested, Black-throated Sparrow has been reported in Maine once before. There is an unreviewed sight record from various observers of one on Monhegan Island from 29 April - 3 May 1983, though to quote Blair Nikola in American Birds 35(7): 849, this sighting "lacked corroboration or other documentation and must remain hypothetical." This is available at: https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nab/v037n05/p00844-p00917.pdf
The only other New England records I'm aware of are from Massachusetts: 5 November 1959 in Deerfield, 12 April 1963 in North Amherst, 14 April 1963 in Amherst (likely the same bird), and 20-21 April 2012 in Brewster. The next closest records (that I found) are three from New Jersey, available here: http://njbrc.com/documents/ARL.pdf. Really an awesome find by Chuck, Ed and Debbie!
Good birding,
Doug Hitchcox
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