From my perch on the balcony yesterday, I photographed this White-crowned Sparrow, presumably a male standing guard in the Central Courtyard, while out of sight in the shrubbery, two females are dragging in grass to build nests. This drama actually started a couple of days ago when Jeanette reported seeing the nest building going on. She assumed one female was visiting two different shrubs. After a little research, I found that female, White-crowned Sparrows are Polygynous, so I now think our one male has two females building two separate nests. And then, just as I thought I had a nice little story all in one bundle, I took the photo below with a female feeding her young. When I posted the photo with my Checklist to eBird.org, it immediately came back with a notice that the juvenile was not a White-crowned Sparrow, but a Brown-headed Cowbird. What the heck!!
Brown-headed Cowbirds are well known for laying their eggs in other bird's nests, and both Jeanette and I remember seeing a Brown-headed Cowbird in the Central Courtyard this Spring. I looked back in our Checklists, and sure enough I had photographed a Brown-headed Cowbird on the 23rd of May, trying to hide from us in a dogwood tree. Infact, I think it was this very tree where this Juvenile was seeing being fed. There is no need to travel to far off destinations for birding adventures, there is plenty of drama unfolding right here under my nose in the Central Courtyard of the Dallas Retirement Village.
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