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Project Noah Nature School
Spizella arborea
What I believe may be an American Tree Sparrow but, I'm not positive. It seemed larger than a Chipping Sparrow but smaller than a Northern Cardinal...perhaps about the size of a Dark-eyed Junco.
On the ground pecking at fallen bird seed and snow
I didn't notice this small sparrow-like bird making any noises. It seemed very calm and came rather close to me without raising its crown feathers in fear. It was pecking at the snow near but not under or on the bird feeders in the park so I'm not sure if it was looking for food or eating snow. Other birds around at the time: Common Redpolls, Black-capped Chickadees, Downy, Pileated and Hairy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches and American Goldfinch.
Ashish Nimkar-I couldn't agree more. And tough too, if they can survive our Minnesota winters. Many leave but a few species of Sparrow stay throughout. :-)
Sparrows are awesome birds... their jumping is so spectacular and flights are too.
YukoChartraw-Thank you so much! I wish I'd done it better justice but we were losing our lighting very quickly so did what I could without flash. :-)
Ashish Nimkar-Thank you! Yes, I thought "Sparrow" too but hadn't seen this particular type of sparrow before. My bird book says they "winter" here but I'm outside feeding and photographing birds daily and this one I hadn't seen up here or back in the Twin Cities before this year. Yeah! Fun, fun, fun :-)
AliHp-Thank you! I truly don't know how any bird, large or small, survives our extreme cold, snow and freezing rain. I admire them all the more for their strength, determination and for having more fortitude than I after only a few hours out hiking in it. :-)
Fyn Kynd-Thank you so much for the confirmation!! I've never seen or photographed one before so, wasn't 100% positive that's what it was. :-)
Spotted on Jan 16, 2013
Submitted on Jan 19, 2013
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