April, while not as exciting a migratory month as May is in the northeastern United States, is still a great time of year to see migrating birds. Sparrows, on the other hand, seem to make the most of the lamb-like weather left over from the end of March and make their move northward while wistful, wood-warbler-wishing birders have seen few of their quarry. In the New York City area the number and variety of sparrows a birder can see in mid-April is astounding. So what species, exactly, can a birder expect to see with reasonable effort in mid-April in New York City?
The Swamp Sparrow above is one of the species that has moved into the area over the last week or so. They can be found virtually anywhere the ground resembles, well, a swamp. The mucky wet edges of ponds, particularly if they are heavy with vegetation, are good as are the edges of small streams or even puddles in the woods!
They should be easily recognizable and not at all confusable with another red-capped sparrow that has been arriving of late, the Chipping Sparrow. Though the picture above was taken at a feeder last year one is more likely to encounter Chipping Sparrows in open fields during migrations, especially if the grass is really worn down. They are often flighty and difficult to approach. The only other sparrow one might be worried about confusing the two species above with is the American Tree Sparrow , which also sports a jaunty red cap, but they have pretty much all left for the north by now and can be differentiated by the central dark dot on their breast.
The other two sparrows that have been around all winter and are now starting to move out are Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrow. While the birds mentioned above are heading north others are just arriving in the area. Savannah Sparrows can be found foraging in the same type of open habitats that Chipping Sparrows prefer while big rufous Fox Sparrows seem to prefer habitat like a Swamp Sparrow as they mostly move through quite quickly though some do winter over.
Savannah Sparrows have a yellow supraloral spot and are a more delicate bird in appearance than a White-throated Sparrow so they should be easy to distinguish and as for Fox Sparrows , well, one is more likely to confuse them with a thrush than with another species of sparrow.
