April Snow brings Spring Visitors

Today (April 2nd) I awoke to a heavy wet snow falling. The temperatures seemed fairly warm at around 35 degrees. There was a slight wind blowing. I could tell by the conditions once the snow stopped falling it wouldn't stick around long, the ground is too warm and air temperature is rising rapidly. I could hear a lot of bird activity going on outside my window. I could not believe my eyes when I opened the front door. There were birds everywhere. So many different species all converging on the bird feeders. Fighting for their turn to eat. I took pictures of many of them, but unfortunately I had to take the pictures through the glass of the door and they are somewhat fuzzy or blurry. Each time I tried to sneak the door open they would fly off in a frenzy. So this was the best I could manage. Hopefully they are clear enough to show the diversity of the individuals that visited today. I counted Harris Sparrow, Red-Wing Black Birds, American Goldfinches (males and females), Juncos, House Sparrows, Northern Cardinals (males and females), Grackles, American Robins, Northern Mockingbird, Downy Woodpecker, White-Breasted Nuthatch, and Black-Capped Chick-a-dee. Seemed the wet snow was triggering their appetites.

Harris Sparrow

What a lovely little bird, when most of us think of sparrows we think of the not so lovely or welcome "house sparrow" The one who is responsible for raiding nesting boxes and taking away shelters from our native birds, and the ones who swoop down to relieve themselves of their dinner on top our clean cars. Let me assure this wonderful little Sparrow would never degrade himself in such a manner. He is a gentlemen among paupers. Even his feathers give him a noble appearance, much like the lord of the manner. He appears in Northwest Missouri for a short period of time through the winter months, then he heads back north to his breeding grounds in Canada. He towers over most sparrows, at 7 inches in length. This picture was taken in November in a fence row on the backside of our property. They tend to be very secretive, sometimes spotted at feeders, usually walking on the ground gleaning whatever seeds they can find. Watch for this wonderful little sparrow, and see if you too aren't impressed.