Some birds at Michigan State

Finding myself in Michigan for a few days, I immediately began noticing birds I don't see very often, i.e. Chimney Swift, Cardinal, Catbird, etc. I noticed that the young Bluejays that are flying around begging to be fed sound a lot like young piglets squealing quietly; very similar to the sounds the young Scrub Jays make at home in Oregon. It has also been interesting to notice again how different the eastern Song Sparrows are from the western ones I'm familiar with. Here they really do show the "stickpin" breast spot mentioned in some field guides - one of those misleading statements for western birders, since "our" birds rarely show that mark clearly. Other birds here along the Red Cedar River (which runs through the MSU campus) seem to be just as common as in western Oregon: House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Common Nighthawk, Mourning Dove and the Robin which has been flying against the window disturbing my fellow conference-attendees.