The White-crowned Sparrow has returned!

September 24, 2007 on 3:16 pm | In Uncategorized, Bird Alert |

Greetings Birders!
Sibley’s birding guide says that the White-crowned Sparrow is a year-round bird in Sonoma County, CA., but locals know that’s not true. This trusty little bird disappeared when the weather heated up, early in the year, heading north to cooler Canada. Just this afternoon, my husband called me to the window excitedly. There, at the foot of the photinia hedge, a lone White-crowned Sparrow was hopping humbly through the green grass. His friends and family will arrive any day now, and we hurried out to sprinkle organic sunflower seeds under the apple tree to welcome them in our usual way.

For new birders (and even experienced ones!) Sparrows can be one of the harder species of birds to identify. So many of them are brown and stripey in a way that seems indistinct. Luckily, the adult male White-crowned Sparrow’s head markings are unique among his Bay Area neighbors, so this is one sparrow new birders will quickly come to recognize.

Read our Sparrow Identification Guide to improve your understanding of our most common Bay Area sparrows, and start looking wherever there is low, brushy growth in your garden and neighborhood. Soon, the White-crowned Sparrow will be joined by the Golden-Crowned Sparrow, the White-throated Sparrow, the Sooty Pacific Fox Sparrow and other charming relations. Last year, birders were flocking to a parking lot in a Petaluma park because Harris’ Sparrow had put in a surprise appearance there. You never know who you’ll see when you start keeping your eyes on the birds!