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Re: American Tree Sparrows; Montgomery County Mid-Winter Count

From:

Gail Mackiernan

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:04:29 -0500

When I look for Tree Sparrows on the Sugarloaf CBC, I look for areas with
abundant broomsedge or similar plants with seeds that are available late in
the season. At Lilypons this year they were in areas with broomsedge and
also, feeding on the fluffy heads of cattails. They retreated into hedgerows
near their food source when disturbed.

Gail Mackiernan
Colesville, MD

on 01/27/2005 8:48 AM, David Mozurkewich at  wrote:


> Frank,
> 
> Although neither is common here, I have see American Tree and
> White-Crowned Sparrows all over Prince George's county, well away from
> the mountains.  The mountains are not the key, you just have a patch of
> habitat that meets their requirements.
> 
> I USED TO THINK that where they are not common, the occurrence of both
> species was well correlated with multi-flora rose.  That is wrong, or at
> least that's not the case here; for the last couple of years my Tree
> Sparrows have been in shrubs along the edges of sparrow-laden fields but
> the majority of habitat that matches that description lacks the
> sparrows; there is something about their preferences I don't
> understand.  Can anyone enlighten me?
> 
> Dave