April is known for many happenings. It is the month of warming temperatures that lead to thawing. (With a deep snowpack, this could cause flooding.) But it also is the month when we see many migrant birds appearing back from winter further south.
With the opening of water in nearby rivers, it is not uncommon to see the presence of returning geese, swans, mergansers, cormorants, grebe and several kinds of ducks. With a little more looking, we may find a great blue heron at the shore and perhaps yellowlegs. On an overhanging branch could be a kingfisher.
As I walk by the swamp each morning, I’ll see and hear the songs from the resident red-winged blackbird. Males with the black body and red shoulder patches arrive back by this time, often in late March. They’ll proclaim territorial ownership to other males. Females show up about a month later.
In the yards and parks of April, we might find another blackbird: grackles. Here, too, we are likely to see a couple arriving woodpeckers: yellow-bellied sapsuckers and flickers. The anticipated robin flocks could be here, too — some may be singing — while their cousins, hermit thrushes, stay back in the woods.
This month, some insectivorous birds are starting to be seen as well. Among these first insect-eating birds are phoebes, a kind of flycatcher; tree swallows; and the first warbler of the season. (Consistently, this first one is the yellow-rumped warbler.) And there are the sparrows.
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A common sight in April are flocks of juncos: gray and white small birds that form groups and feed on seeds, often along the roadsides. As they take flight, we can see white feathers on the edge of the tail. Although a kind of sparrow, juncos are not brown like most of these birds. The brown sparrows are here, too, also returned from the south.
Sparrows may all look like little brown birds that are hard to tell apart. Nearly all are less than 6 inches long. Looking at their head markings and undersides can show a difference. White-throated and white-crowned sparrows are both brown with white markings on their heads, but no spots on the undersides. Both kinds may now be seen on our feeders with waning groups of winter birds: chickadees, nuthatches and finches.
In the wetlands is a sparrow with no spots underside or white on the head. This well-named swamp sparrow stays low among the vegetation.
But as we look out in the yard, we may see two other sparrows that are spotted and streaked with brown on the belly. The larger one is more reddish-brown: the fox sparrow. The smaller song sparrow is more gray-brown with a large chest spot. Fox sparrows scratch out meals on the ground before they move to breed further north, not singing much.
On the ground, in trees or on our feeders, song sparrows will often remain. Setting up a nesting territory, they are quick to sing their long songs. This melody has been described as three or four short notes followed by a buzzy “tow-hee” and a trill. (A memory phrase: “quick, quick, quick put the tea kettle, tea kettle, tea kettle on.”)
Even the scientific name, Melospiza melodia, makes note of their singing. Once established here, they stay in our yards, singing every morning and often much of the day.
Not as colorful as some other spring returnees, song sparrows make up for it with many long delightful songs. Soon, various migrants will be here too, but these early spring song sparrows will remain.
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