Clay-coloured Sparrow / 11:30 group: October 23, 2021

You never know what you will see and where in bird migration. During our walk near the Don River, I noticed what appeared by the clear grayish breast to be a very small White-crowned Sparrow.

Clay-coloured Sparrow

A closer look revealed the bird as a Clay-coloured Sparrow. Clay-coloureds nest in open areas with scattered bushes but can be found almost anywhere in migration.

Clay-coloured Sparrow

These small sparrows measure about 5 inches in length. White-crowned Sparrows measure about 7 inches.

The identification features for Clay-coloured Sparrow are plain-breast, light crown stripe and sharply defined ear patch.

Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow

Other birds:

American Robin
Northern Cardinal (female)
Mallard (female)
Mallards
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-breasted Nuthatch and Black-capped Chickadee
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Robins
Red-tailed Hawk
American Goldfinches
American Goldfinch
Hairy Woodpecker (female)
American Goldfinch
Hairy Woodpecker (female)
American Goldfinch
American Robin
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
American Robin with grapes
American Goldfinch

11:30 group:

NATURE POETRY

On random wires the rows of summer swallows
Wait for their liftoff.
They will soon be gone
Before All Saints’ and before All Hallows’
The changing time when we are most alone.            – May Sarton (1912–95)

Miles Hearn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *