Alien Rarity

I just happen to look out my window at my suet feeder and spotted two birds eating suet. They looked like the typical House Sparrow, but House Sparrows will usually eat as individuals and will not tolerate each other on the feeder together.

As I looked at them through binoculars, I discovered they weren't House Sparrows, but another introduced cousin, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

These birds are considered "casual" in my state and I hadn't ever seen them before. Having studied birds for close to 45 years, I knew exactly what they were because of their distinctive black patch surrounded by white on their cheeks.

I grabbed my camera and clicked away before they flew away, never to be seen again.

I uploaded the photo to my state's birding website and provided documentation because of their rare status.

It's truly exciting to see something rare and new, especially in my own yard. You never know what you might find!