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Re: Chipping Sparrows



>"Edith K. Tatum" wrote:
>
>>  It's a sure sign of spring when the Chipping Sparrows return to my yard.
>>  This afternoon I saw 2 Chipping Sparrows in their brand new spring colors
>>  along with the usual mixed group.  Carolina Chickadee's and Carolina Wrens
>>  are very busy collecting nesting material and building in two of my bird
>>  houses.
>
>Well, now I'm *really* confused!  I've had Chipping Sparrows around for
>months, and I actually thought they were year-round residents?  I
>usually see 4 or 5 at a time, with 1 or 2 sitting in the bird feeder and
>more on the ground underneath.
>
>Anne Lurie
>Raleigh, NC
>alurie@nc.rr.com

------------

ANNE . . .

Edith very well may have Chipping Sparrows in her neighborhood that 
forage on wild stuff all winter until mid-March, when they suddenly 
start visiting her feeders. Or there may be a flock that overwinters 
south of her that typically passes through her yard at this time of 
year as it is moving north.

Some of the Chipping Sparrows in the Carolinas are indeed year-round 
residents, while others come down from northern climes each fall. At 
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History I see Chipping 
Sparrows in nearby fields in fall and early winter, but seldom trap 
any until after the first of January. In fact, of the 1,100 Chipping 
Sparrows banded locally since 1982, only 10% have been captured from 
July through December!

Bird behavior is fascinating, and there are no absolutes, so it's 
okay if you sometimes feel "confused." Even after 25 years of banding 
I am frequently surprised by birds, such as when one of these 
aforementioned Chipping Sparrows--which I banded here in York SC on 4 
April 1994--was recaptured on 15 January 1995 in Gainesville, 
Florida. Did this bird breed in York and REALLY wimp out by having to 
spend the winter in Florida, was it just wandering around, or is 
there some other explanation for its movements? I'll probably never 
know, but that doesn't make the situation any less fascinating.


Happy Birding!

BILL
-- 

BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845

Please visit our web sites (courtesy of Comporium.net) at 
http://www.hiltonpond.org and
http://www.rubythroat.org

"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset."					BHjr.