Rondeau Ric

 Not a fancy bird, but the chipping sparrows show up in the early spring about the same time as the tree sparrows leave. Rondeau Provinciaal Park, Ontario, Canada, April 9, 2024. Spizella passerina.  The early naturalists had a gift for description you just don’t see anymore. In 1929, Edward Forbush called the Chipping Sparrow “the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes about farmhouse doors to glean crumbs shaken from the tablecloth by thrifty housewives." source -allaboutbirds-org

Just a little sparrow on a cool December day. Taken October 10 in the yard. Spizella passerina The nest of the Chipping Sparrow is of such flimsy construction that light can be seen through it. It probably provides little insulation for the eggs and young.

We have large numbers of chipping sparrows around right now. A group came in to the pond for to bathe. The one on the right is an immature so he looks a little different. The pond brings in as many if not more birds than the feeders do. Spizella passerina The early naturalists had a gift for description you just don’t see anymore. In 1929, Edward Forbush called the Chipping Sparrow “the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes about farmhouse doors to glean crumbs shaken from the tablecloth by thrifty housewives.” The oldest known Chipping Sparrow was 11 years, 10 months old

This chipping sparrow is eating the seed head of Queen Anne's Lace or wild carrot. A common bird and a common plant. Spizella passerina A crisp, pretty sparrow whose bright rufous cap both provides a splash of color and makes adults fairly easy to identify. The nest of the Chipping Sparrow is of such flimsy construction that light can be seen through it. It probably provides little insulation for the eggs and young. The oldest known Chipping Sparrow was 11 years, 10 months old. source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.