Sparrows in the Thicket

As the annual autumn songbird migration begins to reach its end, native sparrows can be found concentrating in fallow fields, early successional thickets, and brushy margins along forest edges throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.

Brushy Thicket
A streamside thicket composed of seed-producing grasses and wildflowers as well as fruit-bearing shrubs and vines can be ideal habitat for migrating and wintering native sparrows.

Visit native sparrow habitat during mid-to-late November and you have a good chance of seeing these species and more…

Song Sparrow
The Song Sparrow can be found in woody brush and grassy margins from the shores of the Susquehanna all the way up to the ridgetops of the Appalachians.
Dark-eyed junco
During the colder months of the year, the Dark-eyed Junco is a familiar visitor to bird-feeding stations.  Where suitable natural cover is present, they regularly venture into suburban and urban settings.
White-throated Sparrow
The White-throated Sparrow is commonly found in the company of juncos, but is generally less adventurous, being more likely in weedy fields near young woodlands than in suburban gardens.
Eastern Towhee
The Eastern Towhee is a large native sparrow most often found in early successional growth near woodlands.  Look for them in utility right-of-ways.
Fox Sparrow
The elusive Fox Sparrow is a regular late-fall migrant.  Few stay for the winter, but northbound birds can be seen as early as mid-February each year.

If you’re lucky enough to live where non-native House Sparrows won’t overrun your bird feeders, you can offer white millet as a supplement to the wild foods these beautiful sparrows might find in your garden sanctuary.  Give it a try!

Photo of the Day

Our largest sparrow, the Fox Sparrow, is an uncommon but regular late-autumn and early-spring migrant in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.  Where there is dense cover among thickets, a few may remain through the winter.

A Springtime Quiz

The mild winter has apparently minimized weather-related mortality for the local Green Frog population.  With temperatures in the seventies throughout the lower Susquehanna valley for this first full day of spring, many recently emerged adults could be seen and, on occasion, heard.  Yellow-throated males tested their mating calls—reminding the listener of the sound made by the plucking of a loose banjo string.

Here’s a gathering of Green Frogs seen this afternoon along the edge of a small pond.  How many can you find in this photograph?

If you venture out, keep alert for the migrating birds of late winter and early spring.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are moving through on their way north.  Look for them in mature trees in woodlands, suburbs, and city parks.
The Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), our largest sparrow, is a thrush-like denizen of shrubby forest understories and field edges.  It is an early spring and late autumn transient in the lower Susquehanna valley.
While stopping to rest and feed during their northbound spring journey, Ring-necked Ducks and other diving duck species visit wetlands and flooded timber along the Susquehanna River as well as clear ponds and lakes elsewhere in the watershed.
Eastern Bluebirds are presently migrating through the area.  Some will stay to breed where nest boxes or natural cavities are available in suitable habitat.
Tree Swallows are now arriving.  In open grasslands, pastures, and adjacent to almost any body of water, they will nest in boxes like those placed for bluebirds.
Keep that bird bath clean and fill it with fresh water, the American Robin flights are peaking right now.  Breeding males like this one are starting to sing and defend nesting territories.
Red-winged Blackbirds, like other native blackbirds, are moving through in a fraction of the numbers that were seen in the lower Susquehanna valley during the latter decades of the twentieth century.  They remain a common breeding species in pastures and cattail wetlands.
And of course, keep an eye to the sky.  There are still thousands of Snow Geese in the area.

If you’re staying close to home, be sure to check out the changing appearance of the birds you see nearby.  Some species are losing their drab winter basic plumage and attaining a more colorful summer breeding alternate plumage.

European Starlings are losing their spotted winter (basic) plumage and beginning to display a glossy multicolored set of breeding feathers.
An American Goldfinch in transition from winter (basic) plumage to bright yellow, black, and white summer colors.

So just how many Green Frogs were there in that first photograph?  Here’s the answer.

If you counted seven, you did really well.  Numbers eight and nine are very difficult to discern.

Happy Spring.  For the benefit of everyone’s health, let’s hope that it’s a hot and humid one!