Let there be Chipping Sparrows

Birds of Village and Field By F.M. Bailey
Before this year I only saw two kinds of sparrows: Bad ones (House Sparrows) and good ones (Song Sparrows). A flip through Peterson revealed several others so I made a point this year of trying to find them. Especially the Chipping Sparrow, which is generally described as not only "common" but "one of the most common" American sparrows.

Sure, I thought. In the way that the woods are just bursting with Scarlet Tanagers and Indigo Buntings (not!). [Little did I know...]

Early in the spring, while I was still trying to identify each bird song I heard (and then May hit--sob), I began hearing a loud whirring sound from the tree tops. I tried, fruitlessly, to spot the singer.

It was then that I began seeing Chipping Sparrows. Tiny, friendly birds, with a distinct white stripe over the eyes. Cool, I thought, but I wonder who is making that whirring sound? It was then that a Chipping Sparrow flew to a branch about three feet from my eyes, and unleashed a long, loud "Whirrrrrrr." As if to say, you unobservant fool--do we have to make the connection for you?

The rest of the spring, I've seen Chipping Sparrows everywhere. Even in parks where I've spent long periods of time in the past. So why hadn't I ever "seen" them before? What did I think they were? More evidence of the strong connection between concept and perception, I suppose. But for me the experience is literally one of a bird coming into existence that had never existed before.

Now that it's June, I think I understand a little better. By now the first broods of the House Sparrows are taking over everything, crowding out other birds. And I never used to spend much time outdoors in the early spring. So the Chipping Sparrow is harder to see in the late spring with all its House Sparrow clutter. But it is still easy to hear--so if you pay attention to sounds coming from tree tops, you will indeed understand that the Chipping Sparrow is "common."

[Note: despite their song being somewhat monotonous, there are variations among singers. My favorite is one I recorded this spring that has the hint of a worn fan belt. [Note: this is apparently before I had heard of pine warblers...]]