While bright colorful warblers catch everyone’s attention in our area during spring migration, one of the birds I’m always looking for in spring is the White-crowned Sparrow.
It’s a beautiful large gray sparrow, with contrasting bold white and black stripes on its head.
Some populations are known to overwinter in our area, but I rarely find one during our winter months in Michigan.
I’ve seen a White-crowned Sparrow in southeast Michigan once in mid-November 2018.
Otherwise, I usually only see them through mid-October and then again in late April or early May.
In spring, at the start of warbler migration, I know to look for the colorful bird on the grass near shrubs where warblers are found.
According to All About Birds, White-crowned Sparrows are medium-distance migrants. They migrate through both Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan on their way to their breeding grounds in Alaska and arctic Canada.
The last few years, I’ve been lucky to see them in our backyard during spring migration.
This year, since I’ve taken down our feeders (due to avian flu), I’ve seen fewer migrating birds in our yard. And no White-crowned Sparrow.
Which has encouraged me to plant more bird-friendly plants in the backyard!
