Thursday, November 08, 2007

Tree Sparrows

American Tree Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow, note the central breast dot

Newly arrived on our property are American Tree Sparrows. We enjoy their delicate good looks and their tinkling calls, as they roam the winter landscape. They breed across upper Canada and in Alaska and are seen in winter throughout much of the country. Their central breast dot stands out on their clear breast and notice their white wing bars and yellow lower mandible, good ID clues.
American Tree Sparrows eat weed seeds and come to our feeders for millet, cracked corn and other small seeds under the feeders. We often go out in our yard with our binoculars and look at the feeders and around our property at any sparrows we see, looking closely at these subtly colored birds. The reward is discovering and identifying the many species of sparrows in fall and winter. Try it, you may be surprised at how many species of sparrows can see at your own feeders.

3 comments:

Patrick B. said...

A few have trickled into NJ. I can't wait to see them. I love these guys and I still remember seeing my first. Lovely photos, as always.

Lillian Stokes said...

Thanks Patrick,
Hope you get some more in NJ this winter.
Lillian and Don

RuthieJ said...

I'll have to start watching for these little guys in SE MN. I've noticed that no more Chipping Sparrows are hanging around, but haven't seen any Tree Sparrows yet. Thanks for the 'heads-up.' Maybe they'll arrive in time for my first FeederWatch week coming up!

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