Noticing the Chippies

Once the birds of winter clear out, it is a lot easier to see the ones that got lost in the shuffle.  Winter sees many small, ground-hugging birds.  One thinks of White Throated Sparrows, towhees, Pine Siskins, even goldfinches.  Practically ignored in the flock are Chipping Sparrows.  But now I notice these small characters much more easily.  They practically have the scratch ground to themselves.  And that makes them all the more interesting.  Sparrows get a bad rap.  No one likes to puzzle out "little brown jobs".  For the rest of summer, the chippies get center stage!