Birds and Wildlife
White-crowned Sparrow
Polly Adcock
September 2020
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Usually if there is a pleasant day in January while the soil is damp, I will make a SPD walk
around the flowerbeds looking to eliminate Speedwell (should be call spread well), Pop Weed, and
Dandelion. My feathered friends have brought in more varieties of weeds. They must have decided to
“shelter in place” a few years ago and brought their favorite foods to my yard! Why did they plant it
under the densest and thorniest bushes!?
Many times this year the White-crowned Sparrows have “chirped” (scolded or warned) me.
Once I figured out the warning, I started to LOOK around and sure enough on the ground or chest high
there would be its nest – with baby birds.
They have nested in several places around the yard. After finding a ground nest, I WAITED to
pull the excess Love-in-the-Mist and Montbretia (orange Crocosmia). After ripping out a handful of
vegetation I was horrified to discover another nest about six inches from the last one complete with
babies. Oops! Pardon me.
The female White-crowned Sparrow builds the NEAT nest. Both sexes of this monogamous
pair feed the young. The male continues to feed the young while the female starts another nest. They
may have 2 - 4 broods per year.
Their diet consists of seeds, insects, caterpillars and parts of plants. They hop on the ground
and forage by scratching. At feeders they will eat baby chick scratch and seeds.
On May 16, 2007 The Sequim Gazette posted a picture of a White-crowned Sparrow at the top
of an evergreen tree with “Audubon Bob” Boekelheide's translation of the sparrow's song as “See me,
pretty, pretty, me.”
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