White-throated Sparrows have arrived in tremendous numbers across the region, ready to eat you out of house and home all winter long! Before then, while the grass and earth is still exposed, without being snow-covered or frozen, they can feast on more natural meals. I took a bunch of photos of a few individuals in a group feeding on the lawn last week.
There would not be much to chow down on if this were uniformly treated bright, green grass, one species that was chemically induced to look like the perfect lawn. These monocultures are taking up valuable habitat real estate and often consist of one non-native species. Letting the “weeds” grow and even still mowing lawn while leaving it free of toxins and pollutants still permits a large number of bird species to feed on it. The diversity of plants that can be found even when you must still cut your grass, instead of allowing it to become grasslands and cutting once or twice a year at most, is impressive if it is not managed for human aesthetics. The birds thank you in advance!
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
