For the past several days I’ve been greeted in early morning by the song of a sparrow—a Song Sparrow—in the viny tangles below my window.
Song Sparrows in Utah have a distinctively different song than they do in Maine—a bit daintier, with similar trills but fewer chimes, and a little bit of soft “mumbling” at the end. I’ve come to like this song, like its difference, while still appreciating the old declarative song of the eastern birds.
There’s a sparrow I hear singing from the mountainside trail, too. Two sparrows, singing in winter, aware of the lengthening photoperiod.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 9:45 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up the mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie*
2. Black-capped Chickadee**
3. Song Sparrow* (v)
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay**
5. Sharp-shinned Hawk
6. Pine Siskin
7. House Finch
8. Dark-eyed Junco
9. Lesser Goldfinch** (v)
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, house finch, lesser goldfinch, pine siskin, sharp-shinned hawk, song sparrow, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
