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.

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.

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.

Other birds:

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