Fox Sparrow

A Fox Sparrow was the most interesting bird we saw on our 13 October 2018 visit to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. This sparrow is a common migrant, and occasional winter visitor. They breed across Canada and Alaska, south into the Rocky Mountains and winter in the Southeast, and the Pacific Coast.

This species tends to inhabit dense undergrowth, which makes it hard to see. I am not sure why this individual obligingly perched on top of a bare tree. Because this bird’s tail feathers appear to be narrowly pointed, I suspect it is an immature bird, hatched this year.

Sugar Maple

Yesterday, 13 October 2018, Erika and I dove to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. We searched for fall colors. Lucky we did-this morning we have an inch of snow on the ground and it is still coming down hard. Lots of websites explain why leaves change color in the fall, including the site you get by clicking here.

October Warblers

On a cold, blustery, and even snowy 11 October 2018, we banded almost 50 individual birds in our Northfield backyard. Among them were several warblers than, earlier in the fall, are considered to be common. Now that October is upon is, these same species are flagged by eBird, which now demands documentation. The first is a Bay-breasted Warbler, identified by the faint cinnamon wash on its breast. Note the few bay-colored feathers in the bird’s crown, possibly signifying this bird is an adult male returning to its basic (winter) plumage. According to Janessen’s Birds in Minnesota, a fairly dated resource published in 1987, late dates for Bay-breasted Warblers in southern Minnesota range from 19 through 25 October.

The second photo is of a Blackpoll Warbler. Janssen's late dates for southern Minnesota range from 5 to 25 October. I usually Photoshop away my hand when I photograph banded birds. But, with a Blackpoll, you need to see the bird’s yellowish toes. So my fingers remain. I did edit my hands away in the last photo of a Magnolia Warbler. This individual was the second I caught on 11 October. Note the large, white patches on the tail feathers. Janssen’s southern Minnesota dates for this warbler range from 10 October through 10 November.

Eastern Meadowlark

In this Blog, I have written about the difficulty of separating Eastern and Western meadowlarks, even under ideal conditions. Erika and I photographed three meadowlarks at the Great Western Industrial Park on 6 October 2018. Although the park’s days appear to be numbered as an interesting birding spot, a good expanse of prairie still remains. The meadowlarks hid in the brushy undergrowth. I think this bird’s yellow throat not overlapping onto its white malar stripe (the area between the throat ad the side of the face) and the relatively dark back both point to this bird’s being an Eastern Meadowlark. Both species, by the way, have been recorded at the park.

Eastern White-crowned Sparrow

First-year White-crowned Sparrows are known by their drab, brown plumage. Next spring they will acquire their striking, black and white, adult plumage.  Due to its dark lores, the area between the eye and the bill,  this White-crowned Sparrow is of the Eastern race. If the lores were pale, then it would be the more western Gambel’s White-crown. Both races can be seen in this part of Minnesota. Erika and I took this photograph in the Carleton College arboretum on 6 October 2018.

Western Hermit Thrush

When I took the first photo, I knew I had an odd-plumaged Hermit Thrush. Erika and I spent the morning listing birds for eBird’s Worldwide 6 October Bird Count. We found this bird at the boat ramp on the southwest shore of Lake Byllesby in Goodhue County, Minnesota. This bird’s russet tail confirms that it is, indeed, a Hermit Thrush. Unlike the Eastern Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus faxoni)  so abundant in Minnesota. the bird we found lacked the buffy wash usually seen in Minnesota birds—see the bottom photo bird banded this morning (7 October) in Northfield. Furthermore, yesterday’s bird is clearly paler gray than the darker bird I just banded. My best guess on the identity of the pale Hermit Thrush is Audubon's Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus auduboni), which breeds in the Rocky Mountain of the United States and winters from Mexico to Central America. (Other pale, western races breed further south and would, thus, seem less likely to stray to Minnesota. On the other hand, I am unaware of Minnesota records of Audubon’s Hermit Thrushes.)

Eastern Phoebe

During our stroll in Northfield on 28 September 2018, a few Eastern Phoebes flew into some nearby trees. Phoebes are easily identified by their habit of wagging their tails. Researchers conclude this behavior distracts predators (Weeks 2011). First-year Eastern Phoebes enjoy a yellow wash on their underparts and cinnamon edges to their wing feathers. As the birds get older, they become paler below and grayer above.

Blackpoll Warbler

Only yesterday I posted that I hardly ever catch Blackpoll Warblers in the Fall. Wouldn’t you know that today I caught my fourth Fall Blackpoll  ever here in Northfield. Note the yellowish toes and legs. I believe this bird is an adult male—note the strong stripes along the throat and on the underparts. 

Bay-breasted Warbler

This fall is a banner season for Bay-breasted Warblers. I saw and/or banded 24 of them from 21 August to 30 September 2018 (when I took the bottom photo). In the 2017 fall I only counted seven and in the 2016, only one. A lot of spruce budworms must have hatched in their northern breeding grounds.

Fall Bay-breasted Warblers are hard to tell from Blackpolls. If you have them in the hand, Blackpolls have yellowish toes; Bay-breasts have black toes. Sometimes in the field (and especially in the hand) look for the Bay-breasted Warbler’s faint bay tinge to their flanks. You can just about see this color in the lower photograph. Although Blackpolls are common in the spring, since 2008 I have only seen three in the Fall here in Northfield. Curiously, in the spring, my Blackpoll records outnumber my Bay-breasted Warbler sightings. Studies suggest that Blackpolls migrate southeast to Nova Scotia before making an overwater flight to northern South America. Their return trip in the spring brings them though Central America and the central United States (Deluca et al. 2013). This hypothesis would explain why I find so few fall Blackpolls.

White-throated Sparrow

An immature Wbite-throated Sparrow greeted us on 28 September 2018 here in Northfield. The yellow lores and white throat are key to the species’ identification. Age is indicated by the streaked underparts and the buffy edges of the wing feathers. These sparrows undergo a partial molt from late to early September, after which time most immatures resemble adults. At least during migration and in the winter, White-throated Sparrows are habitat generalists, preferring weedy and brushy areas, and often bird feeders. Click here for more information about this species.