Several types of sparrows are common in my backyard. White-throated and Fox Sparrows pass through in the spring and fall, Chipping Sparrows arrive in spring and stay for the summer, and there’s a small flock of House Sparrows that hangs out our neighborhood all year-round. Occasionally I get some more interesting visitors like the White-crowned Sparrow.
For two years in a row now I’ve also spotted a Song Sparrow in my yard in the spring. They always confuse me at first because they look a lot like female House Finches or Purple Finches; however, they are much beefier. This spring I actually heard the bird before I saw him. The windows were all closed as I ate my breakfast, but I could still hear a very distinct, loud song coming from the backyard. My brain immediately pictured a marsh bird and for a second I expected to see a Red-winged Blackbird when i peeked out the window. But instead I saw a Song Sparrow feasting from one of my hanging feeders.
Song Sparrows are very common, but they prefer open fields and marshes, so that’s probably why I don’t see them very often in my oak-canopied neighborhood. I’m glad a few of the birds stop by now and then to keep things interesting.