More FOY Birds and Lots of Species!

My visit to the park this morning resulted in a LOT of birds so this post will have more than the usual 3 photos! Though I saw some awesome things I always like to post them in the same order I spotted them. The first is actually a bird that caught my eye as looking rather unique but I quickly wrote it off as an American Tree Sparrow. However, after studying my two photos now I firmly believe this is a Swamp Sparrow –which is a new species for me! Only recently I had a conversation come up with an experienced birder about Swamp Sparrows. I told him that whenever I heard people say "Swamp Sparrow" I thought they were using a nickname to refer to Song Sparrows. Well that turns out to be wrong, and there are indeed two separate species. But as it turns out, a Swamp Sparrow looks hardly anything like a Song Sparrow, and is actually way closer in appearance to an American Tree Sparrow. And since I've become so familiar with Tree Sparrows in the last couple of years, I can already see some notable differences here. For one, this new bird shows a distinctly whiter throat than most American Tree Sparrows. It is also missing the white wing bars on it's side. It's cap seems to start as 2 very dark streaks near the beak before turning reddish brown at the top which is also different from the American Tree Sparrow who's reddish brown is solid and the same color even at the front. There would also be a way more obvious distinction which is not very apparent here in either photo. While the American Tree Sparrow has different colors for it's upper and lower beak, the Swamp Sparrow has the same color on both upper and lower beak. Sorry to go on and on about the differences but I do this as much for myself as anyone –so that I can learn from it and also refer back to it! My next bird is one that I've seen before, but is the first time I've seen one this year. And it is one of my very favorite Warblers –an Oven Bird! This is probably one of the more elusive Warblers we have here in Minnesota as it is a ground nesting bird. In fact it is named as such for the "dome" shaped nest that it builds on the ground. I've come to spot Ovenbirds more frequently in areas that have both larger trees as well as a lot of "leaf litter" or left-over dead leaves from the previous fall. They are somewhat common at PLP if you look in the right areas and have enough patience to keep looking. The next bird I came upon is a Black-capped Chickadee who was busily excavating a hole in a stump. The first time I saw it go in the hole I thought I was seeing things. But it would pop out with a beak full of woodchips, fly off and then come back again to do the same. I'm assuming he or she was doing so in preparation for a nest, but the particular stump was only about 2 to 3 feet high off the ground. I would think being so close to the ground might not be safe from predators but who knows. Maybe if the hole is small enough no large mammal could get their head in there anyways. It was a funny sight. Later I spotted yet another Sparrow but this time it posed nicely for a photo. This is a White-throated Sparrow and you can probably see why they are named so just by looking at this photo. Besides the white throat patch, the have a bright yellow patch above and in front of their eye, thus making them one of the more beautiful of the Sparrows. But probably the reason people love this species of Sparrow is that they have a fantastically beautiful call that sounds like the first few notes of the Canadian National Anthem "Oh – Ca – na – da!" Next on the list is another FOY (First of Year) Warbler, the Black-and-white Warbler. This is a particularly distinct looking Warbler, as nearly all other Warblers are brightly colored in Yellow, Orange or Blue. The Black-and-white is striped in strictly black and white like a Zebra, hence it's highly technical name - LOL! They are also one of the only Warblers that can be found walking head first down the sides of trees. Therefore you are more likely to see this Warbler on or near larger, mature trees. And last but not least, I was able to spot one more Warbler today –a Northern Waterthrush. The Northern Waterthrush is also a somewhat secretive bird, staying mostly on the ground but almost always near standing water. They hold their butt and straight tail at a nearly a 45º angle and constantly bob their hind end up and down. So just by this posture and behavior alone, it is easier to discern this bird from others. They can be found bobbing up and down wherever water meets land in the spring. And in summer when the water recedes, look for them wherever muddy land meets the water.

List of species (that I can remember) from today:
1. Swamp Sparrow
2. Song Sparrow
3. White-throated Sparrow
4. Ovenbird
5. Northern Cardinal
6. Blue Jay
7. Black-capped Chickadee
8. Red-winged Blackbird
9. Northern Shoveler
10. Mallard
11. American Coot
12. Black-and-white Warbler
13. Yellow-rumped Warbler
14. American Goldfinch
15. Wood Duck
16. Canada Goose
17. Downy Woodpecker
18. Hairy Woodpecker
19. Red-bellied Woodpecker
20. Hermit Thrush
21. American Robin
22. Brown Thrasher
23. Least Flycatcher
24. American Crow
25. Northern Waterthrush
26. Blue-winged Teal
27. Lesser Yellowlegs
28. Greater Yellowlegs
29. Common Grackle
30. Brown-headed Cowbird
31. Cedar Waxwing
32. House Wren
33. Gray Catbird