A Seven Sparrow Day
May 24th, 2010
Out to the fields and scrubland south of the airport today with Gillian, who had very graciously offered to show me around. It was a wonderful morning, with bobolinks in full flight display, meadowlarks singing in the distance, and sparrows galore. (And, as the morning wore on, one seriously hot and baking sun.)
In addition to the five I had already met--Chipping, Song, Savannah, Vesper, Field--today's expedition introduced me to Clay-Colored Sparrow and Grasshopper Sparrow. Both were neat, but it was the Grasshopper Sparrow that stole my heart. If you weren't expecting otherwise, you really would think it was just an insect! Until you notice that tiny, strange, flat-headed brown bird perched on top of a weed (or a fence post, or an old stump), and he throws his head back with each "bzzzzzzz." Occasionally they sing from the grass, and if they're not singing, the grass is almost certainly where they'll be. In which case, give it up. You will not spot them. They have flat heads for a reason.
And the flight style. The field guide said "flight feeble." That didn't prepare me for what I saw. The wings barely flap, they seem to just vibrate--as if he were some sort of overgrown moth.
Speaking of House Wrens (i.e. the gazillions of them at Point Pelee), I have discovered their enclave in Ottawa. There seemed to be one singing from every other tree.
We went by the pond on Earl Armstrong Road, where I'd never been before. In terms of diversity, it was definitely the most swallowy place I've been. Barn, Bank and Cliff Swallows all circling over the water and perching on sand banks, and Tree Swallows on the power line behind us. Cliff Swallows in Ottawa is a first for me; I'd previously only seem them at Dutch Gap in Virginia.
The two most interesting birds--a Mourning Warbler which would be a lifer for her, and a Cuckoo (Black-Billed or Yellow-Billed) likewise for me--went heard but unseen. We bushwhacked our way into the woods where the Mourning Warbler was singing, but he stopped singing before we could find him. Then, once we'd painstakingly bushwhacked our way out, he started singing again. Figures!
An abundance and diversity of butterflies in this area, too. American Copper, Common Ringlet, Silvery Blue and Tiger Swallowtail, among others.
On Wednesday, I'm going back with camera.
May 24th, 2010
Out to the fields and scrubland south of the airport today with Gillian, who had very graciously offered to show me around. It was a wonderful morning, with bobolinks in full flight display, meadowlarks singing in the distance, and sparrows galore. (And, as the morning wore on, one seriously hot and baking sun.)
In addition to the five I had already met--Chipping, Song, Savannah, Vesper, Field--today's expedition introduced me to Clay-Colored Sparrow and Grasshopper Sparrow. Both were neat, but it was the Grasshopper Sparrow that stole my heart. If you weren't expecting otherwise, you really would think it was just an insect! Until you notice that tiny, strange, flat-headed brown bird perched on top of a weed (or a fence post, or an old stump), and he throws his head back with each "bzzzzzzz." Occasionally they sing from the grass, and if they're not singing, the grass is almost certainly where they'll be. In which case, give it up. You will not spot them. They have flat heads for a reason.
And the flight style. The field guide said "flight feeble." That didn't prepare me for what I saw. The wings barely flap, they seem to just vibrate--as if he were some sort of overgrown moth.
Speaking of House Wrens (i.e. the gazillions of them at Point Pelee), I have discovered their enclave in Ottawa. There seemed to be one singing from every other tree.
We went by the pond on Earl Armstrong Road, where I'd never been before. In terms of diversity, it was definitely the most swallowy place I've been. Barn, Bank and Cliff Swallows all circling over the water and perching on sand banks, and Tree Swallows on the power line behind us. Cliff Swallows in Ottawa is a first for me; I'd previously only seem them at Dutch Gap in Virginia.
The two most interesting birds--a Mourning Warbler which would be a lifer for her, and a Cuckoo (Black-Billed or Yellow-Billed) likewise for me--went heard but unseen. We bushwhacked our way into the woods where the Mourning Warbler was singing, but he stopped singing before we could find him. Then, once we'd painstakingly bushwhacked our way out, he started singing again. Figures!
An abundance and diversity of butterflies in this area, too. American Copper, Common Ringlet, Silvery Blue and Tiger Swallowtail, among others.
On Wednesday, I'm going back with camera.
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