Sparrows Galore!

Every day that passes seems to bring with it greater numbers of birds and more life overall. The frogs are croaking now all through the night and day. American Robins are singing everywhere and the bush is full of the songs of Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are passing through in great numbers and making a racket everywhere they go. It's neat to see so many songbirds returning all at once, each king belting out their own songs and warming up for courtship as they journey north.

The first bird to greet me was this male Northern Flicker.

Male Northern Flicker

Male Northern Flicker

The mature male Red-winged Blackbirds come back before the females and first-year males to stake out their territories. As such, their songs and calls fill the air all through the morning from the most conspicuous perches they can find as they advertise and defend their territories from rival males.

Displaying Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Song Sparrows can be heard singing from the tops of trees and shrubs all around the neighborhood.

Song Sparrow

Mallard pairs are easily flushed up from ditches... here is a male. Also I observed a number of Grey Partridges but I only ever saw them in flight. They would be in the ditch about 15 feet away from me, and I wouldn't notice them until they flushed. Their wingbeats are so loud that they likely startled me more than I startled them.

Mallard

I discovered this tiny little bird foraging in a small tree. It is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet; they are hardy little birds, often the first songbirds to migrate in spring and leave in fall.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I saw these Cormorants flying in a perfect "V" and assumed that they were Canada Geese at first. It took me a second to realize that they were not geese at all, and actually Double-crested Cormorants!

Double-crested Cormorants

The Meadowlarks are singing quite loudly in the farmland and can be heard and seen in nearly every direction.

Western Meadowlark

The Juncos are still around!

Dark-eyed Junco

Here is a pair of American Robins that I saw searching for who-knows-what in a ditch.

Male American Robin

Female American Robin

And a FOY! I almost overlooked this woodpecker, assuming it to be a Downy. Good think I looked twice and discovered that it was in fact a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker!

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

The first wave of migratory sparrows is peaking right now with groups of Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos filling many yards with activity and song. I never realized how common these sparrows actually are around this time of year and wonder how many I've missed out on seeing or misidentified in past years. This is my first time photographing Fox Sparrows. They have the most beautifully rich song of any sparrow and one of the most entertaining foraging techniques! They throw their whole body into their scratching among the leaves, sometimes using both feet at once to move things around!

Fox Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

This shy bird is a common migratory sight, but disappears in the summer when it is more often heard than seen. He wouldn't sit still or let me get close so here is the best photo of this Hermit Thrush I can offer you.

Hermit Thrush

More American Tree Sparrows! And a lot of them too! There were about 10 of these guys feeding with a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos along one 100 meter stretch of road.

American Tree Sparrow

Oh ya, and a couple Fox Sparrows in the mix too.

Fox Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

They blend in so well into the dry grass and brush!

American Tree Sparrow with Dark-eyed Junco

Fox Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

American Tree Sparrow

Today was the first time I heard this bird and was lucky enough to glimpse one! The Wilson's Snipes are back and this is my second FOY of the day!

Wilson's Snipe

Found another Kinglet on my way back home. I heard a wack of them singing and calling, but they are so small, fast-moving, and unpredictable that I didn't get many good photos. I had one beauty shot lined up, but my camera didn't focus and so my perfect shot was entirely blurry. This one will have to do.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Thanks for following along today! Feel free to check out my Bird Log post to see what else I saw and the high counts of these birds! This has been my biggest checklist of the year thus far with just shy of 30 species! I love spring!

Joel G.