Prairie Notes #230- A Host of Sparrows
Prairie Notes are monthly photo/journal observations from Tandy Hills Natural Area by Founder/Director, Don Young. They include field reports, flora and fauna sightings, and more, mixed with a scoop of dry humor and a bit of philosophy.
They are available free to all who get on the FOTHNA email list.
A Host of Sparrows
Prairie Notes #230
February 1, 2025
1) A Host of Sparrows
2) Field Report - January
3) New Species Report - January
4) Birding Walk w/ Tom Stevens
5) Newsworthy & Noteworthy
6) PrairieSky / StarParty Report
7) Prairie Proverb - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1) A Host of Sparrows
When I was a little kid of about 5 years old, my mom told me that, if I sneaked up on a bird and salted its tail, I could catch it and keep as a pet. I took the bait and crawled around our yard for about an hour chasing a Sparrow with a salt shaker in my hand. (I was a persistent, if gullible, kid.) Alas, I came up empty handed. She was probably just playing a trick on me but, some folk tales describe this myth as a way for parents to teach kids patience. So, I suppose my mom succeeded in helping me grow up to be a patient Sparrow lover.
Most folks are only familiar with, non-native Old World Sparrows such as the common, House Sparrow. Those birds are often maligned by birders due to their displacement of native birds. But, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, House Sparrows have declined 80% since the mid-1960’s.
This report is about NEW World Sparrows. There are at least 152 species in the “New World” Sparrows family. These include some species of, Towhee’s, Finches, Junco’s, Buntings and a few others. About 16 species have, so far, been identified at Tandy Hills. As you can see from the photos, these are beautiful birds that deserve our appreciation. Despite their large numbers, New World Sparrows are also in slow decline due to climate change and habitat loss.
New World Sparrows range from drab brown to buff grey, with black, rust brown, and the occasional yellow or orange accents, making them easy to miss and hard to ID. They are on the smaller side, with large heads, short necks, long-ish tails and have short, conical bills.
They are primarily seed-eaters but also feed on insects and fruits. They tend to forage on the ground utilizing an effective kind of, two-step scratching, to uncover bugs in leaf litter. I have often observed them in small groups, foraging and mating in the tall grasses. It’s also great fun to watch them in the snow, all puffed up and skittering around searching for food. They are also generally monogamous with both the male and female caring for the young.
Below are photos of all 16 species observed at Tandy Hills, to date. Click on each photo to read an interesting factoid. If you attend the February 15th Bird Walk w/ Tom Stevens, (see #4 below) you may get to see a few of these wonderful birds that share Tandy Hills with us.
Before you go. . . Watch a Spotted Towhee doing the two-step near Tandy Hills in this short video.
As always, thanks for reading these Prairie Notes and supporting Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. Your donations are welcome HERE.
DY
![Lincoln's Sparrow ( Melospiza lincolnii). Photo by, Keandre Rush. - Lincoln's sparrow was named by John James Audubon after his friend Thomas Lincoln of Dennysville, Maine.[5] [6] Lincoln shot the bird on an expedition with Audubon to Nova Sc](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a8be5c4ef3ef65ac08bb6f/1769293471910-8JCNSPTEP2JBDBHCKX0Z/Lincoln%27s+Sparrow_Keandre.jpg)
2) Field Report - January
The little Indian Summer we had in December finally gave way to serious winter with sub-freezing weather and snow. Before the cold snap hit, we got a lot of invasive species removed. Before long, the Trout Lilies will be blooming and spring will be sprung.
The January 8th sunset was spectacular.
Full Moon on, January 2nd, 2026.
January 26th and the sun was finally out again. There were very few human footprints in the snow.
A magnificent sunset brought January to a close.
3) New Species - January
January is usually a slow month for new species. The species count increased from 2,555 to 2557 in January. Nothing super-exciting but new species, nonetheless. See these and a few other notable species below or, see them all at the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
4) Birding Walk w/ Tom Stevens
IMPORTANT: A birding walk with local ornithologist, Tom Stevens, is coming up on, Sunday, February 15. RSVP for this special event at <info@tandyhills.org>
Tom Stevens is an ornithologist and applied ecologist working as Post Doctoral Associate for the University of Missouri. As an undergraduate at TCU he surveyed the Tandy Hills Bird community in 2007 and 2008. He went on to get his MS and PhD at TCU, studying the impacts of wind turbines on grassland birds in North Texas as a Master's student, and then studying the impacts of urbanization on wildlife Dallas's Great Trinity Forest as a doctoral candidate. He is currently researching how management practices like prescribed fire impact grassland bird communities working with the University of Missouri, the Missouri Department of Conservation, and the Missouri River Bird Observatory.
You can read his thesis on the birds of Tandy Hills on the About page HERE.
5) Newsworthy & Noteworthy
>>>>>>> More than 100 people and quite a few dogs attended the 17th annual, Manly Men Wild Women hike on January 1st. Many more completed the hike throughout the unseasonably warm day. Congrats to all of you who made it! Here's a short video showing the full crowd:
>>>>>>> Fort Worth is slowly reclaiming its original namesake: Queen City on the Prairie. There is definitely a movement happening here and it's spreading. Case in point: Ed & Saha Bass, commissioned artist, James Prosek, to paint what is touted as, “The largest prairie mural in the world”, atop the Sundance Square HQ, the Westbrook building. The 5,000 square foot size is staggering. You may recall that, James Prosek, an internationally acclaimed artist who has visited Tandy Hills a couple of times, had a major exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum last year. According to James, the mural is a direct outgrowth of the Amon Carter show. That is him in blue shirt, below. (BTW—Several of the images were first painted by James at Tandy Hills, plein-air style.) Also, there is also a new, native butterfly mural across the square designed by a talented muralist named, Youri Cansell. See a video of his, HERE.
>>>>>>> The 18th Annual Trout Lily Walk w/ Sam Kieschnick is coming up soon. The exact date depends on when the Trout Lilies bloom. We are checking regularly and will announce when we know but, it will be in either late February or early March. Stay tuned. Sam always draws a big crowd for his insightful walks and talks at the speed of botany. Don’t miss it!
>>>>>>> In April, 2021, I was hiking around looking for the White Prairie Roses (Rosa foliolosa) that grow at Tandy Hills. I never imagined I would find a new species, not just for Tandy Hills, but ANYWHERE! What I found that day was a gall on one of the roses. The gall and the wasp larvae inside may soon be a newly described species to science.
The gall itself was very ordinary looking. Kimberlee Sasan, a local entomologist who is also a gall expert, came out and collected a few samples. Fast forward almost 5 years and Kimberlee recently informed me that, a gall researcher who had one of the galls collected from Tandy Hills, is a new species and she would like to publish it for science. It’s not a done deal yet, but it looks promising. Science takes time. I just happened to be the first to post it on iNaturalist. See pics below.
>>>>>>> In May of 2025, two researchers from, Southeastern Grasslands Institute, spent a week at Tandy Hills doing in-depth plant surveys. They found more than 100 native species and were generally surprised at the quality of what they found here. Their final report was issued in late January and can be viewed HERE.
6) Prairie Sky / Star Party report
The Fort Worth Astronomical Society (FWAS) will be back in March 2026, for the 12th straight year at Tandy Hills. The 2026 season of the 12th Annual PrairieSky / StarParty is now scheduled. See it HERE.
7) Prairie Proverb - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Join with the Earth and each other, to bring new life to the land, to restore the waters, to refresh the air, to renew the forests, to care for the plants, to protect the creatures, to celebrate the seas, to rejoice in the sunlight, to sing the song of the stars, to recall our destiny, to renew our spirits, to reinvigorate our bodies, to recreate the human community, to promote justice and peace, to love our children and love one another, to join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery, for the healing of the Earth and the renewal of all life.”
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Prairie Notes© is the official newsletter of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. All content by Don Young except where otherwise noted.
