What a cool bird. I had one on the deck a while ago but by the time I got my camera he was gone. Hope to get a picture of him today! added back of head.

He's not a White throated he's a White crowned Sparrow

I saw some white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) at your place when I was there last fall. I have always liked them.

Growing up, most little birds were called 'sparrows', and the most commonly seen one was the English sparrow (Passer domesticus) because it nested in and near human houses. "Sparrows" thereby, were not particularly interesting. As I got into college and started studying zoology ('critters'), I learned a lot more about our native sparrows, and what a neat group they are. Beautiful singers, and many of them very pretty birds when actually examined with more than a glance.

It's been a 'good' year for spring birds here in my yard. I've only had a couple of"new" birds, but the "old" species have been more abundant and 'closer'. In fact, as I type this, there is a gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis) at one of my suet blocks. We rarely see them except in the winter, and even then, not very often. Making room for the bison, I dumped quite a bit of old moose and fish (decades old - don't 'start something'), out "in the woods" just outside my dining room window. That kept about a dozen magpies (Pica hudsonia) around for about a month or so. Lotsa tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus), flew over the house, at low altitude, on their way north, and the cranes (Grus canadensis), have 'arrived' in full force and voice! Bald eagles (Haleatus leucocephalus), did their annual inspection of our big cottonwood as a potential nest site, and as usual rejected it. I assume because there is too much human activity too close. Had a great grey owl (Strix nebulosa, new species to my yard), in the driveway for a few days. The aforementioned boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus), has stayed around. Apparently he likes the company and food. Yesterday evening we got treated to a new species to our yard: Cardellina pusilla, Aka Wilson's warbler. Very pretty little bird. I got some decent pictures of it I will post in another thread.

So, so far, 'it's been a good year' for birding. Looking forward to more pictures from everyone. I would like to get our Aussie friends to post some of theirs. They have some very common to them birds - common like our seagulls and pigeons - that are 'neat' to the rest of us. Specifically, a cockatoo they call a "gallah" (Eolophus roseicapilla), some magpies (Cracticus tibicen) that have a BEAUTIFUL song, sulfur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita)in cities like our pigeons, crested pigeons (Ocyphaps lophotes), and a mess of very colorful small parrots/lorikeets that are 'all over the place'.

Anyway... keep on 'birding'!

Paul

I always have a wide variety of birds here, Our red headed woodpeckers are back for the summer. All sorts of sparrows are here year round except chipping sparrows but they returned around 3 weeks ago. Of course all the blackbirds are back form the summer. Grackle, brown headed cowbirds, red wing blackbirds & other ilk. Apparently the resident red tail hawks are feeding babies. The male (Bum) is now 14 years old. Don't know the age of the female. Most likely about the same age. Both still able to catch doves & house finches in surprise air attacks. .......Paul H