40. Spotted Towhee

Leaning Oaks is a welfare state....at least from a bird's point of view.  Subsidized food, shelter, water,  and even nesting material have undoubtedly increased bird numbers (see Leah's entry on Chestnut-backed Chickadee).  One of the species that has benefited  from the constant supply of bird seed is this one, and we have many more on the property than we did before we started feeding birds.  Now its not unusual to see ten adult Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) on the feeders at the same time.  This is one of those sparrows that show regional differences in song and calls.  On Salt Spring Island, where I grew up, their mewing call note is much harsher, louder and longer than it is on southern Vancouver Island, a very short distance away.  

---