Finally, a sparrow

     A House Sparrow showed up at the platform feeder on my deck this afternoon, the first sparrow I had seen here in weeks. The weather system that moved through must have brought it in. It was hungry. When a big old cardinal flew up, the sparrow didn't yield an inch, just kept on eating. The sparrow flew off soon enough, and I don't know if I'll see it again. I think it was just passing through.
    Strange that it was a House Sparrow - it actually adds to my backyard life list. That's right, one of the most common birds in North America never comes around here. House Sparrows prefer urban settings, so if you live in the middle of the city, chances are you'll have more at your place that I do here. They're the chirping birds that like to hang out in parking lots and stores like Lowe's or Home Depot. Like crows, they feed on stuff we leave behind. I recall being at the Mall in Washington, D.C., and the House Sparrows were so keen to being fed by people that you could simply reach for your jacket pocket and they would fly to you with the pigeons.
   I still haven't seen any of the sparrow species I used to see around here. Nor have I seen other newcomers from migration season.

 

Here's what I did see today:

(PM, cloudy, 67 degree, 20 minutes)
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren

I'm seeing red

   Still no sparrows seen nor heard around here. No hawks either, but I suspect they still shop from time to time.
    As they say in the wild kingdom, when one species goes into decline, another replaces it. With me it has been cardinals. They're almost always at the feeders. I have seen as many as four males in the yard at one time, with their entourages of females and juveniles in tow. This tells me that I have three or four families visiting. This time last year it was one or two groups. 
   I guess there are worse things than a bunch of cardinals raiding the feeders. They do bring color to the surroundings.
   But I'm hoping one of these weather systems will bring some migrants soon. I need new faces.
   Here's what I saw today:
(AM, drizzle, 66 degrees, 20 minutes)
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Chickadee

The case of the missing sparrows



Here's a White-throated Sparrow in my yard - back when I
had sparrows.

 

     This sparrow thing is beginning to concern me. I haven't seen one in about a month now, and I used to have them regularly. Now I'm not sure what to do.

     I once had as many as four species of sparrows feeding here. Chipping, White-throated, Song and Field sparrows all showed up from time to time. They are generally ground feeders, but they also came to my platform feeders and even to a tube feeder if it had mixed seed. They're hard to identify from a distance, because their size and coloring are so similar and they are well camouflaged.

     Over the past few days I have been putting mixed seed on the ground between my feeders and a nearby holly bush, in order to provide a feeding area near cover.

    Why near cover? Predators. There may be a number of reasons for the missing sparrows, but I’m putting my money on things that like to eat birds.

       So let’s take a look at the clues and the suspects.

• Clue #1: Hawks have been raiding the feeding station with more frequency lately. I had to run another Cooper’s Hawk from my yard the other morning.
• Clue #2: Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks have an affinity for munching on sparrows.
• Clue #3: I saw a cat schlepping through the yard just yesterday, tail twitching and eyes fixed on the House Finches at my tube feeder. A ground-feeding sparrow could be easy lunch for a cat.

      So, is it Mr. Cooper, at the feeding station with the talons? Or could it be Mrs. Tabby near the holly bush with the claws? Tune in later.

      Meanwhile, I'll continue to put food on the ground for the next couple of weeks, in hopes of getting a family of migrants to visit. But if the number of hawks I see around here continues to exceed the number of sparrows, I just may take the drastic measure of halting the feeding altogether - for a while, anyway.

Here's what I saw today:

(AM, sunny, 66 degrees, 20 minutes)

 

Northern Cardinal

Northern Mockingbird

Carolina Wren

House Finch

Blue Jay

Carolina Chickadee

Mourning Dove