At lunchtime I had a plan to walk straight to the nature preserve on campus, to see what I could see, but barely got beyond the back door. A chunky sparrow flushed from the juniper -- the first White-throated Sparrow of the year. A little sparrow lurked deep within the juniper, curious, but very quiet -- a beautiful Lincoln's Sparrow.
A flitting of dark and light I almost dismissed as another chickadee became something very exciting -- a Red-breasted Nuthatch. And feeding with the nuthatch in the same group of pines were several returning Golden-crowned Kinglets.
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| Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, photo Jorge de Leon |
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| Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, photo J. de Leon |
Returning through the courtyard, an unfamiliar high call came from somewhere - and a Dark-eyed Junco flew off. I'll keep my eyes open in the coming days for more sparrows!
Hooray for migration - but with the thrill of September birding comes the certainty of what's next...
ciao,
Sue
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