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Sparrow Invasion



Every fall I look forward to the return of the winter sparrows with almost as 
much anticipation as the return of the warblers in spring.  Finally, the 
sparrows seem to have arrived in good numbers.  This morning within 15 minutes 
of starting out I had seen Chipping, Field, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, 
White-throated, and White-crowned with good numbers of all except Chipping 
(only 5) and Lincoln's (only 1, but a very nice long look at it).  The bulk of 
the White-throats and White-crowns must have arrived sometime in the past week 
as there were very few around last weekend.  The only ones I'm still awaiting 
the return of are the Fox Sparrows, but they are usually the last to arrive.

Warblers still hanging around were the usual Johnny-come-latelys, lots of 
Palm, a flock of Yellow-rumped, a Yellowthroat, and a straggler Tennessee.  
The Mills River valley of Henderson County is great sparrow country.  Alas, 
most of it is private property.  If I were rich I believe I'd buy up a nice 
chunk of it and maintain it as old field and hedgerow for sparrows and 
Bobwhite and let birders and other nature enthusiasts in.  I'm not expecting 
any windfalls, though.  Anyone know any rich folks who might like to make a 
big donation to the cause?  If the county gets its hands on all that flat land 
they immediately want to turn it into baseball diamonds.
Marilyn

Marilyn Westphal
Environmental Quality Institute
University of North Carolina-Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC  28804
828/251-6823
mjwestphal@unca.edu