This is a Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), one of a few of the species I observed and photographed this past Thursday.
The early spring sparrow migrants continue to pour through the region with dozens and dozens of Savannah Sparrows dominating any grasslands, fields, farms and open areas. The Eastern Towhees are calling out from shrub and scrub patches, yards, feeding stations and power line corridors. Winter friends like White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos are starting to wrap up their pushes north for the breeding season. The Field Sparrows have returned to nest right where you would expect, and we eagerly await more of the uncommon species like the White-crowned Sparrow or Lincoln’s Sparrow plus – hopefully – the Grasshopper Sparrow and Henslow’s Sparrow at places like Jamestown Airport. We will be monitoring for migrants and nesting birds here, there and everywhere in a number of field projects this spring and summer. It’s only the beginning of our work observing these little faces as they start on the path to the next generation.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
