Chipping Sparrow

Here's a perched Chipping Sparrow from last spring. I usually notice them when they're foraging on the ground, though I'm sure they spend a fair amount of time in trees like this 1.

The females build the nests, but it's not unusual for her to begin building only to abandon that nest and build elsewhere. I'm not sure why she'd do that:

  • Perhaps when she's building a nest, a threat that wasn't immediately apparent is ultimately brought to her attention.
  • Maybe by starting to build a nest in 1 spot, she's trying to food predators and/or brood parasites (I'm looking at you, Brown-headed Cowbird) with a decoy nest.
  • I don't think the nest takes all that long to build, but conditions do change. Maybe she realizes that the dense foliage she thought she'd get for Nest #1 isn't going to leaf out, and so she moves on to Nest #2.

Chipping Sparrows aren't considered great architects. At the risk of being judgy, their nests tend to be looser/flimsier than those of robins, and don't hang from branches like those of orioles. Still, compared to some ground-nesting birds, their nests are architectural marvels.

May 18, 2023 at Fairview Farm
Photo 292810391, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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