Autumn Rolls In with the Birds
Yellow-rumpled Warblers bring their brightness to our winter landscape (image: Wikimedia) A week ago, I heard the first herald of winter. I awoke to Golden-crowned Sparrows slurring their sweet song in my backyard. That’s the first I’ve heard from them since they left for their spring nesting grounds in May. Fresh from Alaska and northwestern Washington, they have winged their way back to spend the winter with us in the Bay Area. Their song is often described as “oh-dear-me” or “I’m so weary” which led Alaska gold miners (in the 1800s) to call them the “Weary Willie” bird. Our mild weather encourages their favorite foods of seeds, berries, and insects which they eat on the ground. They’re even known to help control noxious weed species with their voracious appetites for weed seeds. Golden-crowned sparrows spend the winter here and further south then migrate to their northern nesting grounds. (Image: Wikimedia) While walking the dog a few days later, I spied flashes of yellow