A World of Sparrows

Where I grew up in Germany there was only one kind of sparrow, the common domestic House Sparrow  which was ubiquitous and very social - just as they are here - nesting under roof shingles, in ivy growing over fences or houses, in trees and hedges. Sitting in an outdoor cafe you'd always have the company of sparrows picking up crumbs under the table or off your plate if you weren't looking.

However, when I went back to visit my mom and sister in Hamburg last year, I couldn't find any. They seemed to have vanished. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, which in the USA is confined to a small area in the Midwest.  Trying to figure it out I did a search on Google and found that the House Sparrow, along with the Starling and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow,  had actually been placed on the Red List of endangered birds in the UK.  The list cited both long-term and short-term breeding decline, most likely due to loss of agricultural habitat.
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House Sparrow courting

Although they have disappeared  from the center of many cities, they are still present in most towns and villages. And that's were I eventually found them. I was visiting my cousin's farm to look for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.  The ivy covering the old brick house was swarming with nesting House Sparrows, and the sought after Tree Sparrows were roosting in a tree behind the barn, where they had ready access to grain.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow with characteristic chestnut cap and black cheek patch

Eurasian Tree Sparrow chick and parent

Fall is the time for sparrows after most of the other songbirds have left for their winter quarters.  Most of them feed on the ground, in the grass and frequent brushy weedy habitats.  It is often difficult to get a good look at them, since the scatter as soon as you approach, fly low over the ground and plunge back into the vegetation

The White-crowned Sparrow is present in VT during their spring and fall migration. They breed in Arctic or alpine tundra. I think they are the most handsome of all our sparrows.

Immature White-crowned Sparrow



Immature White-crowned Sparrow

 

Adult White-crowned Sparrow



The White-throated Sparrow stays with us all year



American Tree Sparrow



American Tree Sparrow showing the characteristic "half and half" beak and the dot on the chest



Immature Swamp Sparrow. At first I thought this was a Lincoln's Sparrow, but was corrected by a  more knowledgeable birder.

Adult Swamp Sparrow in post-molt fresh feathers

The Song Sparrow often looks colorless and boring; so I was happy about the vivid colors in this photo 



Song Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow with characteristic yellow lores are abundant in our area.

The chipper Chipping Sparrow



Juvenile House Sparrows on their  home turf in a barn window



 

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Related articles

• RSPB draws up list of British birds in urgent need to protection (telegraph.co.uk)

Migrating Teals come and gone?

It's been a weird spring. Migrating ducks seemed to have skipped their usual stopovers in SE VT and just flown right through. Perhaps prompted by the unusually early warm weather they were in a hurry to make it to their breeding grounds in Canada. Migrating at night, they rested maybe for a day and then were gone again. Reports of an Eurasian Green-winged Teal had lured many birders out to a local birding hot spot this morning, but the teals were far from the observation area, partially hidden by banks of grass and weeds and even with a scope the Eurasian GW Teal remained elusive.

Blue-winged Teal pair

Male preening, showing green speculum

Green-winged Teal showing bold white bar down the side of the breast.

Eurasian GW Teals lack such a bar but look similar otherwise.

A Song Sparrow was singing loudly from his perch on a  tree.

The Red-winged Blackbirds seemed more interested in food than in territorial display.

Of course no dearth of Canada Geese, both in the water and flying over:

They often become a  nuisance in local parks and on golf courses, but with their prim white kerchiefs wrapped around the jaw they are still one of the handsomest birds around.

When I came home a rather imperious looking Common Grackle had taken possession of the crab apple tree and feeder. But he couldn't keep the Goldfinches, White-throated Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Titmice and Chckadees away for long.

A White-throated Sparrow is checking out the scene.

Good Birding!