I love hearing the songs of these sparrows every time I walk past this 30 yard stretch of blackberries on both sides of the fence between the Rec Trail and Hopkins Marine Station. It's such a surprising and stark contrast to the sounds of Monterey Bay waves, gull cries, traffic, and jabber of tourists. Sparrow songs immediately transport me to a woodland's edge back in Ohio, even though they are quite common here in CA.
ps - I'm posting this 02/18/12 in honor of the Great Backyard Bird Count being held this weekend, even though I'm not participating in it myself. I'm learning about one bird at a time, and I think it would be an exercise in frustration for me to do a count on my own. The February Checklist for Pacific Grove is daunting.
ps - I'm posting this 02/18/12 in honor of the Great Backyard Bird Count being held this weekend, even though I'm not participating in it myself. I'm learning about one bird at a time, and I think it would be an exercise in frustration for me to do a count on my own. The February Checklist for Pacific Grove is daunting.
5 comments:
How cute! Two peas in a pod! I haven't seen or heard song sparrows around here, but we've certainly got an abundance of white-crowneds around our bird feeders this time of year. They don't actually perch on the feeders, but prefer to forage for seeds on the ground. Like you, I love hearing their whistly, trilly song. Are there yellow-crowned sparrows up in your neck of the woods?
[Gasp]You passed on the GBBC?!
Nice sparrow post, though. JD will be pleased, he's a big softie when it comes to House Sparrows.
Arleen, I wish I could ID birds simply by their sound. We do have golden-crowned sparrows here, but I'm not sure if I've seen them.
Graeme, I'd spend the entire 15 minutes trying to figure out a single bird ID.
Love this photo, it's so easy to think of all sparrows as rather boring "little brown jobs," as once did, but this photo really highlights how much diversity there is in the family. I skipped the GBBC this year too, but wouldn't you know it a lifer for me, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker showed up on our porch!
Neil, that's awesome you saw a yellow-bellied sapsucker on your porch! Definitely not a bird you'd see if you had stayed here in CA. Hope you're enjoying Nashville and baby. ps - I quit twitter.
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