Song Sparrows and Brush Piles

According to an online birding resource I just discovered (see link farther below), "the Song Sparrow will sing as many as 20 different melodies with as many as 1,000 improvised variations on his basic theme." Which finally explains why I can't always recognize a Song Sparrow when I hear one--they're always changing the tune on me. Ha!

But I do get good practice listening since every year several Song Sparrows nest in the large brush piles I provide them for exactly that purpose. You see, Song Sparrows like to build their nests on the ground but also out of sight (predators) and out of the weather. A tangled mess of dead tree branches and long grasses provide just the right mix for my birds.

The other day I heard this male singing his spring song in preparation for mating. And where do you think he perched? On a sapling walnut tree beside this this lovely nesting location. You see, he wants to show a would-be mate what a good provider he'd make. After all, didn't he find this brush pile?

So if you'd like some Song Sparrows to sing in your back yard, don't keep it too tidy. Leave a brush pile and a water source. And who knows? A Song Sparrow soon might be singing for you.

http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Song-Sparrow.html

Till next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!

Georgia Anne

Canada geese drop by for a visit

As typical, March has been full of weather surprises--warm one day and snowing the next. A six-inch snowfall during the night of March 6th created what to my eyes looked like a whipped-cream wonderland. Yet by the evening of the 7th much of the snow had already melted. And by the 9th, my emerald green pond was clear and open for business, just in time for a small group of Canada Geese.

These four flew in around noon and stayed until dusk. They were very cordial, permitting me a photo shoot. I invited them back next year. Here's hoping they'll come.

Till next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!

Georgia Anne Butler

My Season's First Robin

This beautiful Robin brings to mind one word: spring!

Till next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!

Georgia Anne