White-crowned Sparrow (adult)
The weather forecast is calling for a very rainy weekend, so I was grateful I got to spend a few hours outside this morning at the prairie. For me, the White-crowned Sparrow has typically been one of the more challenging sparrows to get decent photographs of, but not this fall. There were plenty of other sparrow species zipping around in the dense tangle, but they were not as obliging as the "flat-heads," as I like to call them.
White-crowned sparrow (adult)
About on schedule, I saw my first two American Tree Sparrows of fall, but only briefly. They’re pretty much the last migratory sparrow to arrive at Pheasant Branch Conservancy and will remain through most of March.
Fall arrival dates for American Tree Sparrow at Pheasant Branch Consevancy:
2007: 10/20
2008: 10/21
2009: 11/01
2010: 10/12
2011: 10/21
2012: 10/12
I guess they like 1's, 2's and 0's, eh? Kidding. There are only a few other songbird species I’m expecting to see yet this fall (or year) at the conservancy. I usually find a Northern Shrike or two before the end of October, and then Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings. Maybe some uncommon winter finches will show up?
The prairie where the sparrows are.
It's been a great fall season for birding. The lighting has been exceptional for nature photography, but we're still under drought conditions. The prairie plants and grasses are mostly brown, but there are still some patches of color remaining.
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Oct 12, 2012 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM
36 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Brown Thrasher
American Pipit
Palm Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2012 Mike McDowell