Monday, June 2, 2008

A Field Day

Monday, June 2, 2008
7 comments

This morning while gathering up my mental and physical energy for work after a long weekend of travel, I noticed a sparrow in the wire flower basket on the back deck. Initially I thought it was a chipping sparrow looking for some suet dough bits. Nope. It was a field sparrow and it was yanking on the coco fiber lining to the basket. Once it had a bill-full of fibers, it flew off down into the meadow. Was this a female building the nest or a male merely bringing her the raw materials? According to the literature she builds but he may help to gather the building materials. The field sparrow returned for more fiber about 10 minutes later.

Julie and I wanted to take some photos and so (after I washed the peanut butter hand prints off the glass) we planted ourselves, cameras at the ready, inside the living room door, just feet away from the scene of the crime. Sure enough the bird came back and was so busy tugging and gathering that the whirring of our motor drives did not spook her in the least.

Here's what I got:


Field sparrows just seem to have a sweet expression on their faces. Maybe it's the dark eye on a plain face—I don't know. The combo of that face and the clear, descending song make this a very pleasing bird to have around the farm.

It started off as a field day.

7 comments:

On June 2, 2008 at 7:50 PM Texas Travelers said...

Great post.
Great Photo.
Great bird.

Well done and thanks for sharing this pleasant fellow.

Come visit,
Troy

On June 2, 2008 at 7:59 PM Kathi said...

Love your Field Sparrow, but then, I am a sucker for ALL sparrows.

I think it is the pink bill and feet that make this one so sweet.

On June 3, 2008 at 6:32 AM Jayne said...

Sweet, sweet, sweet!

On June 3, 2008 at 8:21 AM Beverly said...

Wow...you should enter that second one in a contest for Spring or Easter photos; put it on a card or something! Sweetly beautiful!!!

I agree with your comments regarding dark eyes, but also with katdoc's comment regarding the pink bits. The bird just looks sweet!

Thanks for sharing your morning,
Beverly

PS... it was just the other day that I realized you two are the author and illustrator of the new book I just got; Identify Yourself has been a HUGE help to me. You two are great!!! Thanks again.

On June 3, 2008 at 8:25 AM NCmountainwoman said...

What a sweet face. Great shots.

On June 3, 2008 at 11:37 AM dguzman said...

I love the field sparrow's call too. Like Mike McDowell (and KatDoc), I have a thing for sparrows.

On June 4, 2008 at 11:28 PM Anonymous said...

There is something so heartwarming about a little creature planning for her family, busy at work selecting nesting materials care. Warms me right up.

Dea


[BACK TO TOP]