Since November 26th a White-throated Sparrow (WTSP) has been seen almost daily feeding on the seeds that I put out at the base of the spruce at the end of my driveway. I was hoping that it would stick around for the Christmas Bird Count but had some concerns when I didn't see on either Monday or Tuesday this week, I was relieved when it returned on Wednesday just in time to be included for the count week. On Thursday the odds of a Count Day (12/15/2018) WTSP increased when a second bird showed up and hung out by the same tree.
Of the previous 47 Ludington CBCs WTSPs were only recorded on 6 counts but 3 of those have occurred in the last 3 years.
I wasn't able to check for the sparrow this morning because I left before sunrise to look for a Snowy Owl that a coworker had spotted at my work site earlier this week. From there I had to head back to town and meet up with Van Burmeister and assist him with his assigned count area. Luckily the White-throated Sparrows were both present when I returned home in the early afternoon.
I only took a few photos as I traveled with Van in and around Summit Twp.
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| House Finch |
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| Eastern Bluebirds |
After Van and I parted ways I went back up to the reservoir at work and found a single Snow Goose hanging around with a flock of over 800 Canada Geese.
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| Snow Goose and Canada Goose |
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| Red-breasted Merganser |
Down by the powerhouse a pair of Long-tailed Ducks were seen.
As well as 3 American Tree Sparrows
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| Goldfinch and Tree Sparrow |
Other birds at my feeders that posed for photos were....
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| White-breasted Nuthatch |
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk |
Moments after I photographed the hawk it dropped down, grabbed a Goldfinch and flew off with the tasty morsel.
