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.

Song and dance

The birds which live along the Rotary Trail are not as tolerant of people as those along the boardwalk in Summerside. On the Rotary Trail, they are more difficult to observe as they flit around the treetops so high above one’s view. 

However, I was able to take a few photos and videos of the spring avian song and dance here on Prince Edward Island. I hope with time to improve the quality of my work.  

Patience is important in this endeavour. My husband walked on while I waited and followed a Red-breasted Nuthatch among the trees. 

It had a nest, a hole in a tree which it tended. Back and forth it went to the hole.

After a few minutes it started a step dance along nearby branches, doing footwork and moving back and forth. It turned around on the branch and repeated the performance. It did this for several minutes, then moved to another branch and repeated the behaviour. The entire time it called out in its best nuthatch way. A video is here. While it is not great quality, you can see and hear its dance and song.

Another interesting sight was the American Robin, with the breast which looked like velvet. 

It flitted around, calling out as it went. It wasn’t as high in the trees and was easier to photograph and video which you can see here.

There are lots of Black-capped Chickadees at the Rotary Park and on the Confederation Trail. On the latter trail a few days ago, we could hear the chickadees in one section of the trail singing. 

We stopped for a time and watched one in an apple tree. It was the same song being sung by chickadees all along that section of trail. The wind made it impossible to take a good video.

Yesterday my husband and I rode along the Confederation Trail again, this time near O’Leary. I watched and listened to two Northern Flickers high in a tree.

The birds had a unique song I didn’t recognize and though I recorded them, the video quality is terrible. 

The birds are singing and dancing their way through April here on the island and we are privileged to witness their performance.