New Favourites ...
26 April
Two birds are back in the north for summer. This Fox Sparrow and, bathing in the waterfall, a rather inadequate (record shot only) Brown Creeper.
If I had to choose a group of birds as my favorites (the sort of question that non-birders often pose) then I would opt for Sparrows. In Europe it would have to be the House Sparrow for sheer familiarity and feisty attitude. Here in Quebec though, and it has taken me a quarter century to realise this, I am slowly coming down on the side of the Fox Sparrow. We only see them occasionally in passage. Cornell describe them as follows … really nice birds:
Typically seen sending up a spray of leaf litter as they kick around in search of food, Fox Sparrows are dark, splotchy sparrows of dense thickets. Named for the rich red hues that many Fox Sparrows wear, this species is nevertheless one of our most variable birds, with four main groups that can range from foxy red to gray to dark brown. Since they breed primarily in remote areas, many people see them in winter when the birds move into backyard thickets.
I've come to appreciate sparrows much more the past few years. I like for the Fox Sparrows will do that little jump backwards exposing the leaf litter.
That is a good image of the Brown Creeper though, I've never seen one on anything other than a tree trunk. Nice capture.
Just love a brown creeper.