Over the past two weeks, I've heard but not seen this sparrow. It sings without warning (of course, why would it let me know it's about to sign). Once, I was in a series of Zoom meetings when I heard the bird through my closed window. Another time, I stepped out my front door to hear it singing from a neighbors' yard. Just yesterday, I heard the bird while on a dog walk, now singing from a quarter to a third of a mile away from my home.
I've settled on it as a White-throated Sparrow. His song of 2-4 notes very closely resembles the March recordings of the species that are available on eBird. Funny, though, to not see the bird across 4-5 encounters with him, several of which are within earshot of my yard. Funny, too, that he's seemed to studiously avoid the bit of chokecherry / viburnum thicket where I put down millet and where nearly every sparrow I've seen in my yard spends some time. - Jared Del Rosso Centennial, CO On Monday, March 8, 2021 at 3:27:02 PM UTC-7 Doug Ward wrote: > Jared, > > > > Glad you made this post as it is a sure sign Spring is around the corner > with all the birds firing up their singing voices. We’ve had an immature > Harris’s at our place in southwest Denver (Athmar Park Neighborhood, Denver > Co.) all winter and he (?) is really starting to stretch his pipes lately. > He would occasionally throw out a typically grabbled “*Zonotrichian*” > song on nice days the past few months (here since November), but lately is > starting to find his inner Harris’s with the plaintive monotone notes of > the full song beginning to take shape. It’s been fun hearing him learn and > will definitely miss him when he finally gets good enough to head home to > impress the girls (again, assuming it is a dude). > > > > Thanks again for your post, very interesting. > > > > Good Birding Listening, > > Doug > > Denver > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of > *Nathan > Pieplow > *Sent:* Monday, March 8, 2021 1:55 PM > *To:* Jared Del Rosso <[email protected]> > *Cc:* Colorado Birds <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [cobirds] Sparrow Song Mystery - Arapahoe > > > > Hi Jared, > > > > Yes, Harris's Sparrows can sing quite a bit this time of year. Like the > other Zonotrichias they build up to it gradually over the course of the > winter. I might not rule out a White-throated Sparrow, but Harris's is a > distinct possibility especially if all the whistles were on the same pitch. > > > > Nathan Pieplow > > Boulder > > > > On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 1:50 PM Jared Del Rosso <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Yesterday, while wandering around my Centennial yard in the morning, I > heard a sparrow sing a 3 or 4 note song of clear whistles. The bird stayed > out of view the entire time and got ever farther away. It reminded me of > the clear, strong notes opening a White-throated Sparrow's song. But it > sounded most like the Harris's Sparrow's song. > > > Has anyone encountered a Harris's Sparrow clearly singing its song this > time of year, rather than giving the jumbled mess that I've heard a younger > bird give a few springs ago? Or are White-throated Sparrow giving partial > songs? (But it didn't seem right for that, as it didn't seem like much of a > melody. Just a few repetitive notes). Or might be a different bird yet? > > There are juncos and towhees around, making all kinds of weird noises and > partial songs. This was distinct, cleaner, and sweeter in sound. > > > > - Jared Del Rosso > > Centennial, CO > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. 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