According to the calendar and the morning news, fall arrived at 8:44 AM this morning when the sun’s path crossed the equator (the Autumnal Equinox). However, Claudia and I use a different metric based on observations of the natural world – in our case, fall begins with the arrival of the first White-crowned Sparrows to our back yard.
White-crowned Sparrow
According to my records over the last 14 years, we have seen or heard our first back yard White-crowned Sparrow somewhere between September 19th and September 28th. However, this variation in arrival dates is probably due more to poor observation on our part than to the bird’s migration habits – I believe the actual variation in arrival dates to be much smaller.
We happened to be home for most of this weekend, and paid particular attention to the sights and sounds coming from our back yard as we went about our chores. Although we did have one relatively unusual sighting at our feeders (a migrant Black-headed Grosbeak), for the most part it was the “usual suspects” who have been with us for the summer: Mourning Doves, House Finches, California Towhees, Western Scrub Jays, Northern Mockingbirds, etc. However, this morning (September 22nd, 2008), I knew that fall had officially arrived when I heard the first White-crowned Sparrow singing outside our window at dawn. I didn’t need to look at the calendar to know fall was here – it was singing to me from all directions as I walked outside to retrieve the morning newspaper.
That song will be with us through the winter into late spring when the sparrows leave, seemingly as suddenly as they arrived, for their breeding territory to the north (we have heard that same song emanating from willow thickets in Alaska during early June). Until then, we will simply enjoy their company and this reminder of one of nature’s patterns that continues on around us (or maybe in spite of us) as we go about our busy lives.
© 2008, Scott Hein. All rights reserved.
