When May hits, the migration pace quickens, so I better get my 2nd spring migration report in the books! This year, I'm learning a little more about each of these birds as they arrive and will share a fun fact or two from Pete Dunne's
"Essential Field Guide Companion".
SONG SPARROW
Song Sparrows seem to be a timely bird, returning on March 23rd this year. That's within 5 days of all their other return dates. They can be seen year-round in New York but I only see them during migration, even though Pete Dunne describes them as "probably not far from where you are right now"!
Dunne Fun Fact"Sings all year, though infrequently in winter. Individuals sometimes sing at night. Song is variable but simple in pattern and easily recognized. Usually begins with two to four (usually three) quick, clear, identical notes followed by a long trill and an ending that has several short notes:
chee, chee, chee tureeeee, uree tee tee."
EASTERN PHOEBE
I heard the phoebe before I saw him later the same day, April 2. Don't mistake the chickadee's two-note fee-bee song for a phoebe! The phoebe's "fee-
beeeee" has a harsher, sore-throatier "
beeee".
Dunne Fun Fact"Has adapted well to humans and often chooses to use human structures - most notably bridges and buildings - to secure its nests."
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD
Sorry, no celebration of their return on April 14, the same date as in 2009. So I have a NIMBY attitude with the cowbird: go lay your eggs somewhere else...
Dunne Fun Fact"Only the interiors of mature, dense, unfragmented forest and woodlands seem impervious to cowbirds." Another reason to stop forest fragmentation....
CHIPPING SPARROW
I think the Chipping Sparrow is just so dapper and I welcomed their return on Tax Day April 15. They were just about on time, they've returned anywhere from April 15-22 over the last 5 years.
Dunne Fun Fact"The combination of the bright chestnut cap, prominent white eye stripe, and mascara-fine eye-line is distinctive and easily separates Chipping from all other rufous-capped sparrows. So don't sweat the details. You want to identify adult Chipping Sparrow? Just look at the face. The expression is smug."
FUN FACT SOURCE: Pete Dunne's
Essential Field Guide Companion, Published by Houghton-Mifflin, 2006.
EASTERN CHIPMUNKEmerged from hibernation early this year, on March 10, earlier than years' past.
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