There were a number of song sparrows feeding in the vegetation along the water's edge this morning, but this one happened to stop beside the path to feed on a dandelion which had gone to seed. If you look really closely, you can see the white part that it detached from the seed just below the bird.
There's an abundance of song sparrows around the marsh this summer. They often have two, sometimes even three broods during a season, nesting into August. Fledglings typically leave the nest before they can fly, hiding in the ground cover, being fed usually by the male, while the female renests. This one seen this morning carrying a caterpillar, obviously has young nearby.
I had my first sighting of a Yellow-rumped warbler yesterday afternoon at the marsh. I wasn't able to get a shot of it, however, although I made an attempt.
This song sparrow which I saw this morning was the first time this spring I have noticed a bird carrying nesting material. The marsh is favored breeding habitat for song sparrows. Her first nest may be on the ground under a grassy tuft; subsequent ones (they could have three broods in a season) would be in low shrubby growth.
This song sparrow was singing its heart out in a multiflower rose bush at the marsh yesterday. A welcome sound after a long winter. I saw a number of them foraging on the ground as well.
Not many land birds evident on this morning's walk, but I did catch this Song Sparrow when it lighted in a bramble patch. That's not a crest on its head, it's just wind-blown feathers.
I didn't see any white-throated sparrows today, but I did see several Song Sparrows, including this one, perched on a birch sapling. As for other land birds, the junco population has definitely increased at the marsh.
Changes were evident at the marsh yesterday; for the first time I saw no warblers. But there were a number of Song Sparrows, including this one, which was new - perhaps a group had stopped here to feed for a while before moving on.
The shrubs that border the trail that runs by the sailing school were alive with birds this morning, including this bird, which I think is a juvenile Song Sparrow. Positively identifying many birds at this time of the year is an art in itself. I'm afraid I have a lot to learn.
This Song Sparrow was sounding its jimp call in a tree just over my head this afternoon, when I was getting a shot of an Earthball mushroom beside the path. It appears to have a dark dirt mark on the side of its breast; it is also apparent on the other side of its breast in a different shot. I can't imagine what it might be from.
This song sparrow was busily scratching itself with its beak, perhaps bothered by mites. Whatever the problem was, it certainly looked funny with its feathers all fluffed out.
