It’s not a secret! I love sparrows. And now I have been “assigned” to find them in my favorite birding place, my backyard.

Mike from the bird group mentioned that I probably have several species of sparrow in my neighborhood that I don’t regularly see, hence the “assignment.” I have created from that suggestion: The Sparrow Project. Here’s how I have organized it:

First, I went through a few books and wrote down all the sparrows possible to find on the North Coast.

Next, I grouped them by size. Although there are very small variations in size, when they are next to each other, it’s easy to spot the difference.

Then, I started listing the defining characteristics.

The first thing I usually take note of when I see a bird is the coloring. Where does it sport a unique color or configuration of color? Next I take note of the beak size and color (this tells me more often than not, what family of birds I am looking at).

Then, I move on to leg color. If the bird is still around, I try to see any markings around its eyes and head in general.

So, let’s say a sparrow lands outside my window to eat the sunflower seeds I leave for them. This is an ideal place for identifying, because I can quickly judge the size and run through the rest of the list.

Here comes my bird, it lands and starts feeding. I note that it is on the larger end of the scale for sparrows, that means six to seven inches. Next, I notice the color of most of its feathers as being brown (aren’t all the little birds brown?), and on closer examination I see yellow in the crown area. The beak appears to be gray. The legs and feet are pink.

I have enough to know that I am looking at a golden-crowned sparrow. This time of year, the golden crowns are one of the most common birds coming to my feeders.

I am also on the lookout for white-crowned sparrows, white-throated sparrows, chipping sparrows, swamp sparrows, and I am hopeful for the return of the Harris’ s sparrow, which visited about this time last year.

There are a dozen species of sparrows on my list to identify in my backyard.

After spending many hours with her avid birder parents, Susan has taken up birding as a passion, to the mixed emotions of her husband, Scott. The Boacs reside on the Neawanna Creek in Seaside where their backyard is a birder’s paradise.