Rare golden-crowned sparrow brings Wis. birders

MIDDLETON, Wis. — A golden-crowned sparrow has birders from around Wisconsin taking wing to Middleton.

The bird — rarely seen in Wisconsin — is thousands of miles from its West Coast wintering grounds. For the last week, more than 100 birders have shown up to catch a glimpse.

The sparrow picked a good spot to stop — Eagle Optics, a Middleton binocular store owned by birding enthusiast Mike McDowell.

Last Monday, McDowell noticed a bird scratching on a feeder outside the store window.

McDowell tells the Wisconsin State Journal he shouted out it was a golden-crowned sparrow — but nobody believed him.

According to records kept by the Wisconsin Ornithological Society, the last time a golden-crowned sparrow was recorded in Wisconsin was Nov. 26, 1992, to April 18, 1993, in Sheboygan.