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Joan Wiitanen
Tear Lake, Stanton Township, MI, United States
They only stop by during the spring and fall migration
Sparrows & Cardinals
Tag:
I live in northern San Diego. We had a flock of white-crowned sparrows, and they all left suddenly after 3 months. Oddly, they left one behind, which is really sad. It seems a bit frantic.
Is it still chilling?
Hey Bev! What happened? Here in 2020 we’re living through a global pandemic and can’t leave the house. I’m really invested in this bird. Update please.
I believe I have both a male and female white crowned sparrow at my feeder. Definitely the male unsure if there is a female. I am in mid Michigan so they are probably migrating but it wasn’t a whole flock. Just two. I also have house sparrows and American tree sparrows.
Are male and female white crowned sparrows identical?
Hi Suzi, White-crowned Sparrow males and females look the same. However, juveniles can appear differently (this time of year it may be a bit early to see a fresh juvenile, but not impossible to see one that hasn’t quite molted into adult plumage yet this year). You can view photos of these birds on All About Birds here. You may also want to check out White-throated Sparrows – this species is similar, and also has a “tan-striped” form.
I have a couple white crowned sparrows at my feeder too. Noticed them on 5/08/2020 . I live just north of Middleville, Barry County, Michigan 49333. I found your site scrolling just now trying to figure out what kind of bird they are. Definitely no yellow spot by the beak. I am looking at one sitting roughly 5 feet away thru my kitchen window as we speak. Bird feeder is right outside the window. Never have seen them here before.
I noticed one on our deck just now. It was eating corn that spilled from a squirrel feeder. Then it flew down to a flower pot and I saw another, identical. We live just outside of Traverse City, MI. Never saw this bird before!
I have tiny white stripped (on the head) birds (sparrows?) nesting in a birdhouse mounted on my house and next to windows. I live near Portland Oregon. Ihever thought birds would nest in in as the hole is tiny and it’s by windows. It’s also bright red. They’re very quick, but definitely two coming and going. It’s May 21,2020.
Hi Marilyn, If you can, try to get photos! Upload them here, or send them along to our sister project, NestWatch (nestwatch@cornell.edu) and we’ll see if we can ID the birds for you. From your description, you may have Carolina Wrens.
Hi! I was searching Google for more info on the white-crowned sparrow and found your site! I’m in Kingston, WA (west across the puget sound from Seattle) and I have a pair that have nested in a bush off our deck. They have been here for at least a couple months flying in and out of the bush so I assumed there had to be a nest and my little dog is so curious. She has started barking at the bush. Lol. Anyhow yesterday I finally peeked in and sure enough there is a nest and I saw one tiny stripped head! I’m so excited! I read that they like ground feeders. We only have a hanging feeder on the other side of the house. I’m wondering if it would be good to put a ground feeder (not sure what that looks like ) closer to them or would that draw too many other birds or predators and disturb them? Thank you!
Hi Methia, thanks for asking! We don’t recommend putting bird food near nests, as it has the potential to attract predators near the nest. That being said, you can simply sprinkle some food on the ground beneath your regular feeders to try to attract the sparrows. Also, we recommend checking out NestWatch which is another free citizen science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology where participants monitor bird nests and report the data to NestWatch.org. You can learn more about how to get started with NestWatch here. Please feel free to email us with further questions – these comment sections are not regularly monitored. Email FeederWatch@cornell.edu for bird-feeding questions, and NestWatch@cornell.edu for nesting bird questions.
Hi I have been trapping House Sparrows. I’m concerned about getting female house sparrow identification correct. I released a bird with all the marking of a female house sparrow , but , the bill seemed smaller and no yellow what did i catch? I’m located in Gaines Mi any help in identification will be appreciated
Hi Mark, Thanks for asking. I encourage you to check out the All ABout Birds page for House Sparrows – on that page you’ll see ID tips, similar species that may be confused with House Sparrows, and other information. You can also view our sister project, NestWatch’s Managing Invasive Species page for other legal management techniques to employ if you monitor nest boxes, such as egg oiling. You can learn more about egg oiling, which is effective in keeping House Sparrows busy (instead of competing for nesting space with native cavity-nesters), on page 16 of NestWatch’s latest annual data summary, the NestWatch Digest, here. Note that House Sparrows are the only cavity-nesting sparrow in North America, and therefore if you see a sparrow going inside a nest box, there’s a good chance it’s a House Sparrow.
We’re in upstate NY, I have never seen a White Crowned Sparrow! I noticed one the first week of May on the ground near my feeder. Are they common in this part of the country?
Hi Sandy, White-crowned Sparrows are seen mainly during migration in New York – check out their range map here.
Hi Sandy, I am also in Upstate NY and saw 2 this morning at my feeders. I have never seen them before!!!
It’s now 2023. I wonder if anyone still reads this. I have 2 White Crowned Sparrows (among many other birds) that regularly stop for food. It’s a couple – male and female. I don’t remember seeing them this summer or fall. They showed up sometime in November. They are so fun to watch.
I live in Almonte Ont. Canada. I have at least six White Crown Sparrows at my feeder this spring. The bleep Crackles knock the seed on the ground and the WCPs eat it up.
I just love there bike helmets.
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