Don’s Jersey Birding: Who Doesn’t Love Sparrows?
American Tree Sparrow.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff Nicol
by Don Torino
Like a lot of birders, raptors were my favorite to look for when I first started out. In my mind there were raptors, and every other bird was just their food. Eventually that began to change. Many of my birding buddies ventured for the warblers as their special birds of choice, which are those magnificent little birds that grace New Jersey with their kaleidoscope of colors every spring and summer.
Some other of my birder friends gravitated towards the shorebirds, such as dowitchers, dunlins, and sandpipers, which are a sensational group of birds that I have also come to greatly appreciate. But as for me, I went for the sparrows. You heard right, sparrows. Now before you beginners out there start to yawn and drool your morning oatmeal, you should know that our native sparrow species are a diverse, beautiful, and challenging family of birds. Once you learn a little about them, they will captivate your birding hearts and minds for years to come.
Granted the word sparrow doesn’t immediately bring a lot to the imagination. You are not likely to hear phrases such as “the sparrow has landed” or “the maltese sparrow”, and less likely to have a super hero called “sparrow man” anytime soon. Nevertheless, we do have great birds, such as white-crowned sparrows, savannah sparrows, and fox sparrows. Juncos, Towhee’s longspurs, and buntings are in the sparrow family as well, so take that you warbler lovers! As a side note, the English house sparrow is not related to our North American sparrows.
I thought I would to talk with Dave Hall, director of field work for Bergen County Audubon Society, for his take on birders who love sparrows and why birders get into sparrows a little later than other bird families.
“I think that many birders find sparrows rather scary when it comes to identification,” said Dave. “They are pretty sure that sparrows come in multiple species, but they are just too danged hard to tell apart. So birders often shy away from studying them since sparrows just make them feel inadequate.”
Well said Dave! There have been field trips where we would hold a conference to decide what sparrow species we were looking at. And I confess, there have been times when I would hope that LBJ (little brown job) would just fly away so I wouldn’t have to make a positive identification, but that is one reason why I was drawn to loving sparrows.
At first glance, their colors may seem uninteresting, but a closer look will reveal intricate shades of browns, grays, rust, and yellows that are beautiful in their own right. As a long time woodcarver, I can tell you that it is much easier to paint a chickadee or cardinal then it is any sparrow species. Trying to mix all those different shades of paints to even come close to something that even looks like a white-throated sparrow will have you talking to yourself.
White-Crowned Sparrow at DeKorte Park.
Photo courtesy of Myke Malzone
So where can you begin your life long quest to watching sparrows? A good place to start could be right at your feeders. Fox, American tree, song, and white-throated sparrows are all winter visitors to the backyard. They are, for the most part, ground feeding birds attracted best with white proso millet placed on a ground tray or just sprinkled under trees and shrubs. After that, get out to fields of New Jersey.
Dave Hall says, “For those of us who do appreciate sparrows, the key seems to be that many are quite habitat-specific, or even site specific. If you want to see white-crowned sparrows, they seem to appear like magic in areas of DeKorte Park. If you want to see Lincoln’s sparrows, I go to the Lincoln Park gravel pits (there’s an odd coincidence!). And if I want to see a grasshopper sparrow, well I’m just about out of luck since my favorite farm fields near home are now lost to development.”
In my neck of the woods, besides DeKorte Park, there are some great sparrow spots, such as Mill Creek Marsh in the Meadowlands and a wonderful lesser known spot, Overpeck Preserve in Leonia (a great area for vesper sparrows and last year a Le Conte’s showed up for a few days). Before heading out, you will want to polish up on sparrow identification techniques. The DVD “Watching Sparrows” by Michael and Judy Fieth is a must have. It contains great close-up pictures and sound recordings.
As far as field guides go, “Sparrows of the United States and Canada” by David Beadle and James Rising is the best there is. The one I like to put in my pack is “Sparrows & Finches of the Great Lakes & Eastern North America” by Chris G. Earley. It is light weight and very easy to use.
So there you have it, no more excuses. Get out there to appreciate and enjoy this amazing group of birds we have in New Jersey. Let me know your favorite place to see sparrows in the Garden State and which sparrow is your favorite. Now, who doesn’t love sparrows?
Don Torino is the Education Chairperson for Bergen County Audubon Society.
Previous Birding Exclusives:
- Don's Jersey Birding: Winter at Mill Creek Marsh
- Don's Jersey Birding: Every New Jersey Backyard is Critical Habitat
- Don's Jersey Birding: Finding the Right Birding Buddy, Part 2
- Don's Jersey Birding: Birding Binoculars: Keeping it simple
- Linda's For the Birds: The Strange Mating Ritual of the American Woodcock
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 3/8/2011 7:00 AM 
Categories: Don's Jersey Birding
Tags: sparrows raptors Bergen County Audubon Society white throated sparrow white crowned sparrow DeKorte Park
Categories: Don's Jersey Birding
Tags: sparrows raptors Bergen County Audubon Society white throated sparrow white crowned sparrow DeKorte Park
The Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve in Franklin Twp., Somerset County has breeding Grasshopper Sparrows. It's a bit of a hike from Bergen County, but definitely worth it!
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Thanks Alyssa,
Grasshopper Sparrows , very cool, worth the trip is right !
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I like the article. I have more sparrow than any other bird. i wish the cardinals would come back but I have become content with the sparrows and mourning doves. i think the squirrels that i am always yelling at chase away the other birds but sparrows are tough. Every year I have 2 nests under my air conditioner.
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