CoHowild: white-throated sparrow

[nancy bee]

I took some bird photos around coho yesterday and offer them to our bird and nature loving neighbors in Southtown. 

These sparrows come south from northern Canada  to stay with us during the winter. I see them scratching around in leaf litter looking for seeds, fruits and insects. They sing sometimes even in the winter, and their song is distinctive and easy to learn. This individual was sitting in the trees east of the playground, perhaps enjoying the late afternoon sun while digesting some food. 

Our patchy landscaping with clusters of trees and shrubs near open ground is good foraging for these and other birds. The trees and shrubs offer nearby protection from predators, while the openings offer an opportunity to scratch for food on the ground. 

The Cornell website "Birds of the World” describes the preferred winter habitat as:  

"Frequents small openings in dense thickets where leaf litter covers ground or edges of clearings and hedgerows near dense cover.” 

That matches my observations here at Coho. I am grateful that we had and have the will, heart and foresight to think of the wild animals as we inhabit this place,

I contrast our habitat (good, and getting better) with the cemetery  which is mostly mowed grass. I see few birds on the grass. A few robins and starlings poking for worms and insects. Because it is mowed there are not even any grass seeds present. What a loss for nature to have that huge area be so impoverished. Sure, its better than pavement, but.

[Torsten Pihl]

Cute! Thanks for sharing. 

Torsten

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