I really do need to get out more. While the rest of the Saint Louis birding community is training its scopes on rare ducks and gulls, I’m transfixed by the backyard birds.
There have been two unexpected individuals in my backyard sparrow watch over the past eight days. Last Saturday a late Chipping Sparrow made a brief stop in the yard, and this morning an American Tree Sparrow, a newcomer to the yard, snacked for a moment on the asters and then moved on. The latter is my yard’s ninth tenth species of sparrow.
Since Saturday, November 18, there’s been a possible female Cassiar Junco (as per p. 501 in Sibley’s guide) in the yard. Unfortunately, none of the photos I took came out well (the two panes of glass comprising the interior kitchen window and the storm produce photos that have a strange filtered look). Last winter there was a visitor with a gray back and clearly contrasting darker hood that could have been the model for Sibley’s illustration of the adult male Cassiar. I’m now thinking that a bird I identified last winter as an Oregon Junco (photo here) might have been one of these intergrades.
Dark-eyed Juncos are graceful little birds and interestingly variable. While puzzling over this weekend’s unusual individual I happened across a good discussion, which can be found at Ocean Wanderers.
A Cooper’s Hawk has been taking an interest in the many little birds on the block. Here’s the terror of the backyard birds:
