They pay a deadly price when wrong---will hope they choose correctly. Our weather forecasters are not very reliable but they are now saying a warm and dry winter. You will have to tell us which choice the sparrow makes.
Fascinating observations. We usually talk about ranges and migrations at this very aggregated and generalized level - but, of course, birds are also individuals in microcosms, and direct observation over time is so much more rich and nuanced. This is lovely, and curiosity-sparking. Thanks for sharing this!
Diane, I wonder if the winter visitors you observe at the feeders are late migrants passing through on their way south, stopping at your feeder for a welcome refueling. We keep a feeder up all winter for late-migrating hummingbirds. Always love your photos!
Well that is a very interesting question! My weekly chart of birds in my backyard shows Song Sparrows all year round EXCEPT the last two weeks of November and the first week of December. There's a 3-week blank space on the chart. Then, about half the winters, a single bird shows up and spends the rest of the winter here.
My guess is that the breeding Song Sparrows leave by mid November. I suspect that one that shows up in December raised its family north of me and then came "down south" to southern Iowa when the winter got too rough.
you can see an animated map that shows where Song Sparrows are week by week throughout the year. (You may need to click a button that says static map to activate the animation feature.)
Then click the Plus Sign a couple of times to enlarge the map until you can see your state. (You might have to drag it over to the center of your window.) Click the arrow, and the map will show where Song Sparrows live through the year. This map is generated by eBird, which gathers the distribution data from all the birding reports sent in by birders.
They pay a deadly price when wrong---will hope they choose correctly. Our weather forecasters are not very reliable but they are now saying a warm and dry winter. You will have to tell us which choice the sparrow makes.
"Curiosity is a gift, a capacity of pleasure in knowing." --John Ruskin
What a good quote. Thanks, Care!
It's good to know that others, too, look at their backyard birds and wonder what is in their tiny minds!
We do wonder that, don't we? Here's to a fascinating question.
I have the same conundrum each winter.
At least we humans don't have to go south using muscle power! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Fascinating observations. We usually talk about ranges and migrations at this very aggregated and generalized level - but, of course, birds are also individuals in microcosms, and direct observation over time is so much more rich and nuanced. This is lovely, and curiosity-sparking. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I'm pleased that you're reading My Gaia.
Diane, I wonder if the winter visitors you observe at the feeders are late migrants passing through on their way south, stopping at your feeder for a welcome refueling. We keep a feeder up all winter for late-migrating hummingbirds. Always love your photos!
Well that is a very interesting question! My weekly chart of birds in my backyard shows Song Sparrows all year round EXCEPT the last two weeks of November and the first week of December. There's a 3-week blank space on the chart. Then, about half the winters, a single bird shows up and spends the rest of the winter here.
My guess is that the breeding Song Sparrows leave by mid November. I suspect that one that shows up in December raised its family north of me and then came "down south" to southern Iowa when the winter got too rough.
Sounds like a reasonable guess!
For simplicity and brevity, I left this next part out of the story, but I think it's pretty nifty. If you click on the link
https://tinyurl.com/bk8rzhy
you can see an animated map that shows where Song Sparrows are week by week throughout the year. (You may need to click a button that says static map to activate the animation feature.)
Then click the Plus Sign a couple of times to enlarge the map until you can see your state. (You might have to drag it over to the center of your window.) Click the arrow, and the map will show where Song Sparrows live through the year. This map is generated by eBird, which gathers the distribution data from all the birding reports sent in by birders.
What a wonderful website! Thank you for introducing it to me, Diane!
Bird-brains, they say, are not so bright.
I posit: Irrelevant!
Brains have no way to say
“Go South! Or Stay Here!”
I vote for Instinct…better yet: Intuition.
(Works best for me!)
And cunning, cleverness
and…cuteness!
Not all…well, any, of us, survive
In the way we now think this is,
But the leaf grows again,
Some Sparrows return,
Have chicks, follow
Their intuitions,
Thrive!
It all works!
(Somehow)
Lovely. Thanks for sharing your poem, for its humor and kind regard of the Song Sparrow.