[bcbirdclub] The Sparrows Have Arrived

From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2010 00:29:36 -0400
October in the birding world is known as Sparrow Month because that is the time 
when the sparrows that have gone north to nest come back south to spend the 
winter. Right on schedule they have arrived this week.




The birds in these first two pictures are the same species - White-crowned 
Sparrows. The one on the left is an immature bird that has not yet gotten its 
white crown. The one on the right is an adult.
Here in Buchanan County we don't usually have these birds spend the winter, but 
go just one county south to Russell County and you will find large flocks of 
them all winter. They seem to prefer the more open farmland.




The birds on the left are Chipping Sparrows. Even though some do nest here 
during the spring and summer, large flocks of them move through in the fall. I 
counted 47 in one flock in my backyard yesterday.
One had a partially white head, but it got away before I could get a picture.
The birds on the right are a Field Sparrow (with the white eye-ring) and a 
Chipping Sparrow. Some Field Sparrows also nest here, but the numbers increase 
in the fall as they pass through.



This White-throated Sparrow (on the left) showed up yesterday, my first one for 
the season. They have been up in the northern U.S. and Canada during the 
nesting season, and will now be with us through the cold and snow until April 
of next year.
The bird on the right is a Song Sparrow. This one stays with us in this area 
year round and is a common nester in our yards and gardens. It often serenades 
us from the top of a weed or shrub during nesting season. This past spring one 
sang while perched on a wire for hours just a few feet from me as I did yard 
work. It didn't even stop when I had to come within about 8 feet of it. 

Including the birds in these photos I had 34 species in and around the yard 
today - 5 woodpecker species, 3 thrush species, 2 warbler species, 6 sparrow 
species including Eastern Towhee and Dark-eyed Junco as well as a Vireo, 
Ravens, Grosbeaks and a Red-shouldered Hawk.  The day's complete list is below.

Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt

34 species

Red-shouldered Hawk 1

Mourning Dove 2

Eastern Phoebe 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1m

Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 (1m, 1f)

Downy Woodpecker 3 (2m, 1f)

Hairy Woodpecker 1f

Northern Flicker 3 (2m, 1f)

Blue-headed Vireo 2

Blue Jay 6

American Crow 3

Common Raven 2

Carolina Chickadee 2

Tufted Titmouse 2

White-breasted Nuthatch 2

Carolina Wren 4

Eastern Bluebird 5 (1m, 2f, 2juv)

Swainson's Thrush 3

American Robin 4

European Starling 25

Cedar Waxwing 22

Tennessee Warbler 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler 6

Scarlet Tanager 1m

Eastern Towhee 11 (6m, 5f)

Chipping Sparrow 55 (1 leucistic - partially white head)

Field Sparrow 1 (First of the Season)

White-crowned Sparrow  (1 ad, 1 juv )

White-throated Sparrow 1 (First Of the Season)

Dark-eyed Junco 2

Northern Cardinal 5 (2m, 3f)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3 (1m, 2f)

American Goldfinch 2 (1m, 1f)

House Finch  4 (3m, 1f)

 

Eastern Chipmunk 1
[bcbirdclub] The Sparrows Have Arrived

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