I was happy to see an American Tree Sparrow show up already this winter as part of a Dark-eyed Junco flock that hangs out regularly under my hanging feeders.
According to a study, American Tree Sparrows are abundant, but their population declined 53% between 1970 and 2014.
While most birds are relatively quiet in winter, these sparrows will vocalize.
American Tree Sparrows are common at backyard bird feeders, but the Cornell Lab of Ornithology also notes: “Inventive in their foraging, they’ve been seen beating grass seedheads sticking up out of the snow with their wings to release seeds they can pluck from the ground. These hardy birds often continue foraging undaunted as winter blizzards roll in.”
So far there are no blizzards in our forecast, much less snowstorms, so this bird is able to get an easy snack from the feeders. Or it can enjoy the dried seeds leftover from my garden plants that I decided not to pull up until spring.