Dots, streaks, lines, and rings

The title of this post is not about some sort of new code.  Rather, it's what I've been studying lately.

The song, "Sparrow" by Simon and Garfunkel asks the question, "Who will love the little sparrow?"

"Me! I do!" I think when I hear it. 

But recently I have been thinking I don't know very much about sparrows... that I probably should pay more attention to looking at them closely to see if they are what I think they are!  That's where the dots, streaks, lines, and rings come in.  That's eye-lines and eye-rings, by the way.

Let's look at the sparrows on our property list so far in 2014.  

We started the year with two sparrows we have at our bird feeders in the winter.  First, the American Tree Sparrow.  They are only here in the winter, as in the summer they move north to nest and raise their babies.  North-- as in, way up in the tundra!  They have dots, eye-lines, white wing-bars and bi-colored bills -- all of which you can see in the photo.  Okay, American Tree Sparrow...got it?

Next on the list is White-throated Sparrow.  In Northeastern Pennsylvania, these birds live all year round.  Just south of us, they reside in winter only and just north of us they live in summer only.  So, we're lucky to have them all year long, as they are very beautiful birds.  They are one of the few kinds of sparrows that have a bright spot of color.  Notice the yellow on its face, and of course the white-throat it is named for.

The third sparrow on the list, we are not so lucky to have.  They are English Sparrows, also called House Sparrows.  The first name comes from where they originated (Europe).  The second name is because they like to live in towns and cities and build their nests in cavities  or birdhouses. 

Unfortunately, they will take over nesting locations that our native birds, such as bluebirds and tree swallows need.  This pair repeatedly tried to build a nest in one of our boxes this spring.  I also repeatedly removed it.  Luckily, I won.... they went somewhere else!

The next sparrow on the list arrived back at our feeders in March, just passing thru on migration.  This is a Fox Sparrow:

Their two main identifiers are their slightly larger size and their foxy reddish color... especially their tail.  After visiting us for a week or so, they continue on their way to the boreal forests of Canada for their nesting season.

Right after the Fox Sparrows came the Song Sparrows.  Now, we're really talking streaks and a dot on these birds!  When I learned them as a youngster, I was told that the dot in the middle of their breast is a 'music note' and the streaks are the 'music staff'.  Not sure how realistic that is, but it helps to remember them.  They are really called Song Sparrow because of their pretty song, which also has a way to remember it, as it's supposed to sound like, "Madge, Madge, Madge, put on your tea-kettle, ettle, ettle".    You can listen here and see if you think it sounds like that!  (Try the third sound clip, that sounds most like it to me!)  Here's a photo of a Song Sparrow, and it's even singing.

By the way, those lines on its tail are shadows. 

Another good clue sometimes as to what bird is what, is their behavior.  As I said, the Fox Sparrow and Song Sparrows arrived back here about the same time (in mid-March).  The following is a short video -- showing a Fox Sparrow on the left and a Song Sparrow on the right.  

The Fox Sparrow seems to burn an awful lot of calories hopping around getting its food, but I guess it finds food that otherwise might be missed.  Did you see the Song Sparrow's 'dot' at the end of the video?

The next sparrows to arrive were Chipping Sparrows which made the list on April 14th.  Their name comes from the chipping trill that is their song.  You can listen here.  They are very common and widespread... all the way from the east coast to the west coast of the US.  

Chipping Sparrows look a little like American Tree Sparrows with their rufous caps, but they don't have a dot on their breast.  And they are here at opposite times of the year.  Chipping Sparrows nest here in Northeast PA.  This next poor little guys nest blew out of a tree in our yard during a storm.  We put it back in the tree and as far as I know, everything turned out fine.  

The next sparrow to arrive and be counted on our list was a Field Sparrow.  I typically hear these birds more than see them.  They have a rather loud and obvious song.  Click here to listen.  Field Sparrows have a white eye ring and a pink bill.  So be sure you have your binoculars to check them out!

Otherwise, they look kind of like a sparrow with no dots or streaks on their breasts.  Are you getting confused yet? It's okay, we only have a couple to go!

The next sparrow appeared in our yard on May 8th.  I'm always looking for these to arrive because they are one of my favorites.  This is a White-crowned Sparrow.

My field guide says they are uncommon in the eastern US, but we usually have one or two stopping to eat our bird seed on their way north in the spring.  You can see where they get their name... from their beautiful white 'crown'.  This spring I heard a 'different' bird singing in the yard -- looked out and there it was.  So pretty!

Swamp Sparrow is next on the list.  I had a little trouble finding one this year so the date was May 30th... later than usual.  But they look a little like a Song Sparrow and sound a little like a Chipping Sparrow, so I wanted to make sure!  Of course the place to look for a Swamp Sparrow is-- you guessed it -- a Swamp.  Trouble is, those other birds could be there, too.  But, I finally saw this one:

There are lots more kinds of sparrows, my 'Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America' lists 32 - many of which would never probably be seen in Susquehanna County.  So, when I had the idea a couple of weeks ago to pay more attention to sparrows, I wasn't really expecting I'd see anything unusual.  But, keeping closer attention paid off!  On October 1st, I added bird number 106 to our 2014 list -- a Lincoln's Sparrow!

A lot of times, sparrows are kind of hard to see because of the places they like to hang out.  The Lincoln's Sparrows were no different.  Can you find one in the upper center of the next picture?

 With binoculars, it was easier to see, but also luckily, it flew up on top of a fence post for a few seconds... long enough for me to get the next photo. 

It has streaky sides-- fine, dark streaks in a buffy-colored background.  When I first saw it, I just thought it looked 'different'.  Its identity was confirmed from my photos by other birders and it even became bird #160 on a county list by a birder who came to check them out (we saw two).  It was not a life bird for me since I had seen them out west where they are more common, but it was the first time for them to appear on our property list.  

Lincoln's Sparrows have a dot, streaks, lines, and rings... kind of a grand combination of sparrow markings!

Don't feel bad if you can't remember all the markings of the sparrows -- I get confused sometimes, too.  That's what field guides are for!  And even if you don't know the identity of a bird, you can still enjoy watching it.  How about this cutie who had an itch that needed scratching?

 Can you tell what it is?  Hints... rufous cap but no dot or streaks on its breast!