Nelson’s Sparrow
The October sparrow push continues! A huge flight of nocturnal and diurnal migrant birds have moved through the Northeast region in the wake of last weekend’s cold front, and that timing was about as good as it gets for sparrow lovers. This morning I was wandering around Stratford Point doing some surveying with my dog Zach and recording whatever would pop out of dozens and dozens of songbirds present. He is a large sheltie, and his oversized fox look is very helpful. He assists in hazing waterfowl out of the historic shot fall zone, and in the uplands little birds usually flush then...
Read MoreDickcissel (Spiza americana)
The highlight of my Sunday birding was this Dickcissel (Spiza americana). My friend, and terrific birder, Tom Murray and I had crippling views of this bird after we spotted it simultaneously among so very many sparrow migrants. It hid on us for about 20 minutes after we first got a quick glance for the initial identification, eventually granting prolonged looks. Persistence pays off! Patience (and sometimes a lot of silence instead of pishing) often helps when you want to a better look a specific individual. This bird of the prairies and grasslands of the Central and Midwestern United States...
Read MoreWhite-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
This White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) thought it was completely hidden from my sight – nice try, my friend! It is an adult who, as you can also see, still had some crumbs on its mouth…or bits of seeds on its bill. Close enough. Go out and have a tremendously birdy Sunday with the many sparrows passing through our area right now. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreLess Common Yellowthroats
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, October 1, changed both the calendar and the composition of life as nocturnal migration slammed a lot of areas in the lower Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with some of those really autumnal avian sightings. I had my first of fall White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos along with dozens of Eastern Phoebes. I also picked up a Lincoln’s Sparrow to start off the most sparrow month of the year. Warblers are starting to thin out and turn over to later migrating species, and the now less Common Yellowthroats like this one are becoming a bit more...
Read MoreFerruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium ridgwayi)
This Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium ridgwayi) was described by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser as “tiny in stature, but not in tenacity”. It is only the size of a large sparrow but he can personally attest to the amount of significant amount of damage the bill and talons can inflict upon prey or banding human handlers.
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