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Oct 27, 2005  I Remember September Here it is the tapered end of October with me harkening back to September. I do so because of a string of sightings of one particular bird species, the White-throated Sparrow. When one consults a bird book it appears as though the White-throated Sparrow is not a local bird, but anyone feeding birds, or watching carefully in spring, knows they are around. In spring, about the time White-crowned Sparrows pass through by the hundreds, so too do a number of closely related species. Golden-crowned Sparrows, in my estimation, number about one to every 200 White-crowns, and mix in with White-crowns as they scratch around feeders. White-throated Sparrows can also be seen with the White-crowns, but often as not are encountered in their own small flocks. Harris's Sparrows are the least seen, but they too pass through in ones and twos. I call these four Sparrow species "the Zonos," short for the family Zonotrichia, to which they all belong. One spring I discovered Harris's Sparrows at the landfill site in an extensive brush pile. I subsequently became a regular visitor and even photographed a mature bird. At the dump I heard the song of this elusive Sparrow for the first time, when it joined in song with many vocal White-crowns. But back to this September. I consider spring to be the best season in which to encounter my sentimental favourite of the Zono species - the White-throated Sparrow. However, after house-sitting from mid August to mid September I've changed my mind. From September 15th to September 30th I saw more White-throated Sparrows than in any previous year. When the house-sit began I kept a bird journal noting every bird that I knew to be migrating away for the winter. This might sound easy but unlike a journal of 'first' bird spring arrivals, a journal of 'last' bird fall exits is difficult because the last bird listed might not always be the last, just the last in a string of notations. For example, the Cassin's Vireo, despite being an insectivore, stays long after many birds with a similar diet have departed. My notes on this species went: August 30th - singing, September 1st - singing, September 3rd, September 6 - singing, September 13th - loud scolding, and finally on September 14th the last entry describing the Cassin's vireo making a curious garbled utterance. One could conclude from this that Cassin's vireos exit our area about that time in fall but of course that date might vary a little bit depending on the weather of that particular year. Around September 17th I began encountering more Zono Sparrows on my trips down along the creek. I noted White-crowned sparrows moving through the area, lingering in the yard, as early as August 25th but hadn't, at that point, seen any of their relatives. It was while making the 'pish' sound to raise any hidden birds from a grass covered island in Bridge Creek, that I saw what was to be the first in a series of White-throated sightings. Upon hearing my 'pish' a White-throated Sparrow immediately came up a willow into view. To my surprise it flew toward me and landed to my left. At such close range I could see that its plumage wasn't the typical white-striped adult variation but another called the tan-striped adult. Consulting the book later I have to admit that the colouration might also have been a first winter (August to March) variation. I stopped making the sound as soon as the White-throated Sparrow showed itself but by contrast I noted that White-crowned Sparrows reacted differently to the sound. After staring at the White-throat, I turned my attention to some activity in a nearby willow and saw a White-crowned sitting motionless near a Lincoln Sparrow that, like the White-throat, had come up to investigate. The next day about 200 feet further upstream I flushed several Zonos. They spread out through the 20-foot tall spruce and I scanned as many as I could before they departed. I glimpsed what I thought was a Golden-crowned Sparrow but only wrote it down as a rumour. However, I did spot another tan-striped adult White-throated Sparrow before they all managed to go into hiding, my second in two days. The next day in the same area I encountered a different mixed flock of birds, in particular a lot of Yellow-rumped Warblers. In with this bunch was a big Sparrow that, other than leaving me with a long drawn out call note, which usually signifies a White-throated sparrow, left in a hurry. At this point I wasn't expecting to find any more White-throated Sparrows and my notes continued with Tree Frog calls, five Common Snipe all in one spot along the creek, and the arrival of many American Pippits in the field. I also noted daily the presence of Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, birds that migrate somewhat southward from us. On September the 22nd I came upon 4 Golden-crowned Sparrows, 2 of them juveniles with burnished crowns and one possibly still in its July/August plumage with streaks on the chest. I was close enough to the adult Golden-crowned Sparrow to notice a difference in the crown. Consulting the book later I saw that an adult in non-breeding (August to March) has a break in the black of the crown just in front and above the eye, something that would only be noted at this time of year. The beak of the Golden-crowned also struck me as being very sharp compared to the White-crowned and the White-throated. And so on and on it went with more Zono sightings in the following days. Finally September the 30th rolled around, the last day of the house-sit and the last day of September. I set myself the challenge of trying to see another White-crowned Sparrow before the house-sit ended, thus recording this species' presence until the end of September. The day began very foggy so I waited until the warmest part of the afternoon to try my luck along the creek. About 1:30 I walked across the pasture to start trolling for Zonos. Things were quiet in the vicinity of a big mudslide area that had in previous days produced White-throats, White-crowns and Golden-crowns so I continued on. Finally in an area where a spring trickles through a boggy willow area I heard my quarry. One by one and sometimes in two, Zonos began flying up. I estimated that there were more than 15 in all and by creeping from willow clump to brush pile I was able to scrutinize most of the loose flock. Most this day were immature White-crowns with tell-tale orange/brown stripes on their crowns, but one was a male White-throated Sparrow thus giving me my goal of another recording of that species in September. A first winter plumaged Golden-crowned Sparrow was also in the bunch. I thought when the house-sit ended that I had made my last recording of that species for the year, but on October 4th, Patricia from the 108 Mile area phoned to say she had encountered White-throated Sparrows on her walk that day. For a bird that is not really listed as having a regular range in our area, the white-throated Sparrow certainly has a presence in both fall and spring. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
