![]() ![]() Here are just a few papers on the history of the North American birds as well as their evolution and differentiation:īarlow, J.C. (The description was not considered credible, however, by the state record keepers.)Ī lot of interesting work has been done comparing the North American population of Eurasian Tree Sparrows with the German ancestral birds. These facts, coupled with the expansion into the Upper Midwest in the 1990s, leads me to conclude that this is a reasonable, valid record for Dearborn. Their description seems wholly adequate, including their observations (also shared with me from subsequent sightings) that the Eurasian Tree Sparrow seemed skittish around House Sparrows - a number of researchers have indicated that Eurasian Tree Sparrows do not compete well and are subordinate to House Sparrows. In another rare bird report they completed, they noted the bird at the feeder was so close to their kitchen window that they couldn't use binoculars, so it was seen well. Living in an urban area, the observers of the Dearborn bird were, of course, extremely familiar with the House Sparrows that were ubiquitous at their feeders. (You can read much more about European birds in the Midwest on my page regarding this research here.)īack to Dearborn. Earlier records (if there are any others besides the Dearborn bird) in Michigan and elsewhere would be attributable to expansion of the core Illinois/Missouri population. Thus, I would not be surprised if Michigan records after 2002 or so were derived at least in part from the Chicago-area releases. From what I've been able to ascertain, the releases began sometime after 2000, likely around 2002. The same importer thought to be responsible for these birds also imported and sold Eurasian Tree Sparrows. These birds were likely the result of releases from the same source that founded the population of European Goldfinches in the Chicago area. Between 2004-2006, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Siskin, and European Greenfinch were all reported from the U.P. The flurry of reports from Michigan beginning in 2005 and mostly in the Upper Peninsula coincides with a surge of reports of other European birds in this region. Since then, there have been around 30 or more Michigan reports, including those of multiple birds. At some point, reports begin to get archived, and Michigan's first "official" record of Eurasian Tree Sparrow occurred in Cass Co. Good data on early records of introduced species can be difficult to dig up because these species are dismissed as "uncountable" by birders, and it's the birding community that usually documents these occurances. In the 1990s, multiple reports came from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and Ontario. A more rapid expansion began in the 1960s, with birds showing up in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. By the 1940s, the colonization extended only about 80 miles from their original point of establishment, mostly in a north and northwest direction. Twenty birds were imported from Germany and released there, and for decades did not expand much from this area. It is not native to North America, as the name indicates, but since 1870 a population has been established near St. Prior to the 1970s or so, a report of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow would be highly suspect. It was more fidgity than the other sparrows-quite nervous.Įurasian Tree Sparrow in Europe. ![]() Eurasian tree sparrow Patch#The bird had a black patch on the ear covert as well as around the eye, a small black chin patch (smaller than the regular house sparrow), rich brown crown, faint white ring around the collar, was slimmer than the house sparrow and immediately left the feeder whenever the regular sparrows came in. There is no doubt in our mind that it is a a Eurasian Tree Sparrow after consulting Petersons Field Guide ( page 263), Golden Field Guide Birds of North America (page 279) and Audubon Master Guide to Birding Book 3 (page 351). The feeder is about 7 feet from our kitchen window so we had lots of good hard looks at it. ![]() Here is their original description, written the first day they saw this bird:Īt 8 AM this morning, my wife and I observed a different sort of sparrow for about 5 minutes off and on at our feeder. The observers were well known to me, and frequent participants in Christmas Bird Counts and breeding bird surveys in Michigan. The bird was seen over several days, but due to an email glitch I did not get the original report until about a week had passed. On 21 October 1999, a Eurasian Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus) was reported at a residential feeder in west Dearborn, about a block from Snow Woods near Snow Avenue and Rotunda. NOTE: In anticipation of publishing a new Dearborn bird checklist, I am posting information on some of the city's more interesting sightings. ![]()
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