― Victoria Logue
Frost-covered fields
I took a few days off and birded most of my four-day weekend. I was hoping to find uncommon migratory sparrow species at Pheasant Branch, but it didn't pan out. That's fine. It just makes them all the more special the times when one does see them. But overall, there seems to be fewer sparrows for this time of year. Normally there's a big arrival of White-crowned Sparrows, but so far their numbers seem low for October. Or as my friend Charles would say "I'm not impressed by the number of White-crowned Sparrows this month." Every migration is a little different―and what a terrible thing it would be for them all to be the same.
Saturday morning saw temperatures dip into the twenties. From the north, winter's chilled breath began its effort to obscure summer's work. No insects were observed, so for my birding audience there will be no more photographs of tiger beetles or hopper insects until April! However, these iced flower portraits were fun to take.
The first rays of sunlight hit the frost.
I encountered 11 sparrow species over the course of my three visits to the prairie, including Eastern Towhee and Dark-eyed Junco, as they are technically New World Sparrows. Side note: Did you know it was just last year that the American Ornithological Society split New World Sparrows from Emberizidae to the family Passerellidae? Anyway, about the only species that seemed to be in good number was White-throated Sparrow, and I guess Song Sparrows, too. I found just a single Savannah Sparrow, but no Clay-colored Sparrows. A few Lincoln's Sparrows were present, but they seemed shier than usual, so I had a tough time getting a decent photograph of one.
Lincoln's Sparrow
Alas, it looks like it's going to be a two-zono (Zonotrichia sparrows) season for me, but I still adore WTSP and WCSP; they're such frenetic little busy-bodies as they fly, scamper, and forage. Only once since the first Harris's Sparrow I observed back in 2003 have I found this species after October 13th, and that was November of 2007. Well, it's still a possibility and there have been a couple of recent sightings; one to the north on the 11th, and another to the south just yesterday. After what seemed to be the start of a trending increase in HASPs at the prairie, there may be a two-year gap (missed in 2017). Incidentally, after the 2007 HASP, I didn't see another until the fall of 2012! Still, it's difficult to lament after the brilliant encounter with the 2016 HASP. I can wait.
White-throated Sparrow
And now for some White-crowned Sparrow portraits ...
White-crowned Sparrow
They perch in shrubs along the trail and pick at grit when the coast is clear.
Messy bill!
Pheasant Branch Prairie
Friends agree that it hasn't exactly been a great fall in terms of foliage color. While there are accents and highlights here and there, many trees have already dropped their leaves. I don't think we're quite past color peak; it's just been a bit underwhelming. No matter, though. We take what we can get and it's still a gorgeous time of year to be outside.
Pheasant Branch, Dane, Wisconsin, US
Oct 7, 2018 - Oct 13, 2018
66 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow
© 2018 Mike McDowell