The first snow

Brrrr...Central Indiana had their first snow of the year yesterday. Oh none of it stuck to the ground, but snow showers were present throughout the day. This was followed by a cold front that had the Indiana thermometers plummeting to an unseasonable temperature in the low 20's.

There are still no signs of juncos at the house yet. Talked to a lady at work who said she has had juncos at her feeder since late October. What did arrive behind the most recent cold front was a horde of house sparrows. I had not seen that many house sparrows so far at this house but there are tons of them here now. I was reminded of the fact that, although abundant here, and often considered a nuisance bird for occupying bluebird nests, house sparrows are an endangered species in some parts of the world. In fact, one was recently killed for toppling dominos in the Netherlands which will probably result in prosecution.

I don't mind the house sparrows so much - I like them better than starlings! But isn't it funny how some birds get a bad rap. How our value system places one species more desirable than another? I try not to be like that, particularly in birding and try to stop myself from comments like, "Oh, it's just a Robin", or "It's only a house finch", or even, "Nothing there except Canada Geese." Shouldn't we embrace all birds of all species for the gifts they give us, whether common or not?