First white-crowned sparrow sighting of the season

A male white-crowned sparrow forages for seeds. Photo by J.J. Meyer

      It must be fall. The white-crowned sparrows have arrived! Yesterday was my first sighting--10 days earlier than last year.     
     White-crowned sparrows migrate to Southern California in the fall. Some travel from as far as Alaska to spend winter with us.
      Like most sparrows, they're ground feeders, and prefer to stay close to the safety of trees and shrubs. Though they may sometimes visit platform feeders for sunflower and other kinds of seeds, they're more likely to stay on the ground eating seeds dropped by other birds.
      Welcome our winter visitors by tossing black oil sunflower seeds, millet and cracked corn on the ground for them.
      Happy Birding!
      J.J.