Back Yard Feeder Watch

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson and the Waterloo Natural History Association for the information and photos in this column.)

Those of us who have been feeding the birds this winter are probably used to seeing the same species over and over.

But as spring nears, birds that have wintered further south are now appearing as they begin their northward migration. A couple to look and listen for in the coming days are the white-throated and white-crowned sparrows.

Sparrows are one of the last groups of birds that many bird watchers learn, because most are shades of brown with rather subtle markings that distinguish each species. Hence, many people call them LBB’s or little, brown birds. The head markings of the white-throated and white-crowned sparrows make them easy to separate from their little brown cousins.

White-throated sparrows are brown above and gray below with a distinctive head pattern. The black-and-white-striped head is accompanied by a bright white throat and yellow between the eye and the gray bill. The white-crowned sparrow also has the black and white head stripes, but lacks the white throat and the yellow. Its bill is usually pink or yellow.

Both species forage on the ground, but will readily come to feeders, even if only to retrieve seeds that have fallen from above. And, both have distinctive calls. Those of us that are out picking up the last of the fall leaves or removing the mulch from tulips and daffodils may hear them singing nearby.

To listen to the white-crowned sparrow click here.

To listen to the white-throated sparrow click here.

The white-throated sparrow nests from the northern half of the Lower Peninsula north into Canada. The white-crowned sparrow travels into the Arctic Circle and Alaska before nesting.