Week two of Project FeederWatch!

With my second count completed I learned the value of watching for 2 consecutive days. On day two I added 4 species not seen on the first day, for a total of 17 species for this week’s count. The Harris’s Sparrows are showing up in good numbers, but I’m finding these and other ground feeders hard to count. All those nice leaves offer great places to hide!

The Harris's Sparrow is one of my favorite winter birds. This hardy bird nests in northern Canada where boreal forest meets the tundra, and comes south in winter for the balmy temperatures of the Great Plains. These wintering birds congregate in a very restricted area centered on Kansas and Oklahoma.

The patterning among individuals varies quite a bit, with older birds showing more black on the head and bib than younger birds. You can use this trait to get to know individual birds that come to your feeders!