Songs for the ages

On our travels around our island home, I never tire of seeing these tiny birds, the Song Sparrows. While not on the beaches, they are in the woods nearby, the trees lining the trails and the boardwalk in Summerside, even among the hedges at home. You see them as you ride or walk along and everywhere, they sing their hearts out.

Their russet and grey back is not distinctive among sparrows. However the markings down the breast and the black mark in the centre make the breast of the Song Sparrow distinctive. 

For years Song Sparrows have nested among the hedges at the front of our house. Every morning, one stands on the balcony outside the bedroom and greets the rising sun with song. That brief interlude is my morning wake-up call. 

Earlier this spring, we had a feeder hung above our patio and our resident Song Sparrows visited regularly. The feeder is down now, so we don’t see the birds as often. However, if we work in the garden, they land on the house next door or the wires into our house and sing to distract us from the nest area.

The sight of such a sparrow in song is heart warming. The little birds often sing looking skyward, as if praising the heavens with all their might. They sing as if with emotion, loud and clear, recognizable songs from a repertoire only other Song Sparrows are party too, but people recognize. They inspire us with their performance and entertain us with their vocals. Our world would be a sadder place without these beautiful little birds.

In response:

Several people wondered about the reed grasses I featured on a recent post. I responded in that post but I am including the information here in case people didn’t see it.

The reed grasses were at the Cavendish Farms Wetland area. It is in an estuary which is under study to see the effect of farming on the waters in the area. I suspect the grasses are a native species, though an invasive species is on the island as well. The Wetland area is protected and it looks as if the grasses have been planted there as part of the on-going conservation project.