White-throated Sparrow
“Other winter birds like White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos also retreat northward each spring in significant numbers, however not all of them depart.”
Through the year
Columns that mention it, by the month they were published.
Year by year
Columns that mention it each year.
In his words
Ten of the 27 passages, oldest first.
Increasing numbers of White-throated Sparrows with their signature song, “Oh-sweet-Canada” have been showing up daily.
There has also been a very impressive inundation of White-throated Sparrows, many of which will stick around until next Spring.
On or about the September 25 the first of many waves of White-throated Sparrows (comes in two forms, one with tan stripes and one white stripes) appeared in Cape Elizabeth.
Oddly I’ve seen very few Black-eyed Junco’s so far this season, and after an early wave of action the White Throated Sparrow count is behind last years tally as well.
White-throated sparrows and Black-eyed juncos are noticeably fewer than this same time period last year.
On one day I counted nearly twenty Song Sparrows on my lawn mixed in with White-throated sparrows and more than a couple boisterous Dark-eyed Juncos.
Also, it was hard not to notice the White-throated Sparrow invasion - showing up in extraordinary numbers across Cape Elizabeth and surrounding lands.
Interestingly, Dark-eyed Junco have been documented to produce hybrids with White-throated Sparrows.
Oddly I’ve seen very few Black-eyed Juncos so far this season, and after an early wave of action the White-throated Sparrow count is behind last year’s tally as well.
Also, White-throated sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos (referred to as ground feeders) numbers appear to be below average this season.
Show all 27 passages
Other winter birds like White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos also retreat northward each spring in significant numbers, however not all of them depart.
There was a significant push of White-throated Sparrows on the nights of April 20 and 21 across Cape.
A few late September mentionable observations include, on September 22 the first fall wave of White-throated Sparrows arrived on our property.
Also, White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos (referred to as ground feeders) numbers appear to be below average again for the second winter in a row.
Migratory woodpeckers such as the Northern Flicker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker numbers peak in April as do Brown Creepers, Eastern Phoebes, Winter Wrens, Brown Thrashers, White-throated Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, and fleeting pass through migrants like Fox Sparrows and “Ipswich” Savanah Sparrows.
On 9/18 I came across three Blue-headed Vireos along the northern entrance to Runaway Farm and on 9/20 in my backyard I noted eight, first of season White-throated Sparrows, three lingering Gray Catbirds and from my bedroom window, two Red-eye Vireos and one Philadelphia Vireo.
White-throated Sparrows, Dark Eyed Juncos along with the last big waves of blackbirds have yet to arrive in Cape.
Winter backyard residents such as the White-throated Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco are arriving, migrant songbirds and shorebirds are still trickling through from further north, ocean birds like Scoters…
The following morning of October 28 along Crescent Beach State Park I noted lingering Yellow-rumped Warblers and secretly singing White-throated Sparrows along with two Immature Bonaparte’s Gulls and a pair of Red-necked Grebes off Richmond Island.
Notes from the yard and field over the last several weeks include: after the snowstorm in early January there were widespread and noticeable movements of White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos across Cape.
Slightly bigger than a chickadee, the bird stood out from its cousins the White Throated Sparrow and Dark-Eyed Junco with its slim, long-tailed look, chestnut cap and black stripe through the eye.
During the night I was awakened by the reverberant hooting of a Barred Owl, and in the early morning hours we listened to male and female Great-horned Owls dueting for 45 minutes as the twitterings of many White-throated Sparrows surrounded our tent.
White-throated Sparrows scratching, Cardinals glowing, Goldfinches clinging, Carolina Wrens creeping, House Finches and Chickadees singing, White Breasted Nuthatches whacking, Titmice fluttering, Doves perching and Bluebirds squabbling.
Amongst the White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos was a stout, sparrow sized bird with two rather prominent white wingbars that contrasted against a subdued grayish colored wing.
Amongst the dozen or so Song Sparrows, three White-throated Sparrows and pair of Dark-eyed Juncos below our bird feeder on March 23, the Fox Sparrow stood out in the crowd.
The following morning our backyard was carpeted with White-throated Sparrows along with an array of first of the year birds including a Northern Parula, two Gray Catbirds and a female Eastern Towhee.
As December settles in with snow and below average temperatures my backyard ebbs and flows with familiar winter activity: Dark-eyed Juncos chasing, White-throated Sparrows scratching, Cardinals glowing, Goldfinches clinging, Carolina Wrens creeping, House Finches and Chickadees dashing…