White-crowned Sparrow
Striking fall colors are fading and many trees are bare. Diversity-wise, the migration of sparrows at Pheasant Branch Conservancy is a little past peak, though Fox Sparrows are quite numerous at this time. American Tree Sparrows have begun trickling in; soon there will be a few hundred that will spend winter at the conservancy feeding on prairie plant seeds, plus doing their best to avoid being eaten by accipiters and shrikes.
Around twenty birders joined me on Saturday for a Madison Audubon field trip at the prairie and observed 37 bird species. In addition to the aforementioned sparrows, there are still White-crowned, White-throated, Song, Swamp, Savannah, Field, Chipping, but Lincoln's Sparrows have moved on. There might still be a straggler or two, but you can see from my eBird reports that they peaked between the end of September into early October:
Lincoln's Sparrows at Pheasant Branch Conservancy
2014-10-18 [1] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-16 [1] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-12 [6] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-10 [4] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-07 [8] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-05 [8] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-04 [6] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-10-02 [8] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-30 [2] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-27 [10] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-25 [5] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-23 [4] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-22 [1] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-21 [1] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-19 [1] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-16 [2] Mike McDowell Checklist
2014-09-16 [1] Mike McDowell Checklist
This departure is slightly earlier than usual, but I've scoured the prairie parcel the last four times I've been there and haven't come up with any Lincoln's Sparrows.
Fox Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (HY)
White-throated Sparrow
The Prairie Parcel
Along the Creek Corridor
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Oct 26, 2014 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM
43 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2014 Mike McDowell