Sable Island
“The Ipswich Sparrow is a geographically isolated subspecies that breeds exclusively on Sable Island which is 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean.”
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The Ipswich Sparrow is a geographically isolated subspecies that breeds exclusively on Sable Island which is 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean.
This understated sparrow is not to be confused with its cousin the “Ipswich Savannah Sparrow” which only breeds on Sable Island in Nova Scotia, and is bigger and paler, or the Song Sparrow which looks similar but is also larger.
The Ipswich variety of Savannah Sparrow is always a thrill to encounter along its journey to Sable Island, a thin crescent shaped island of sand located in the middle of the ocean, 180 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, and the only place in the world where this special species breeds.