These two pictures are left over from Saturday's walk.
It's not that the snow and ice isn't pretty. It really is. But I wanted to share these with you, and so they win for today.
A little surprise like a very early English daisy, Bellis perennis, was easily enough to bring on a smile. I know they are considered by some to be a terrible nuisance in yards, but I love them.
![English Daisy](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuprkNp6sYsEjrf0ZFGmD1UmYW_eFZxWVvJoYjiNsr4RpcFhMrYZwY1F8oCCQQej6n1Ilaf0Kyc-aCiA6gelSjnmaKedKDBEcr5TLdd28CbDz-gVgFWG_XqI0j78NShQbTEzbTeVqraWnW/s280/EnglishDaisy01.jpg)
I had to get help to identify the second little treat. I'm just not a very good birder. I saw a bird moving in the grass ahead of me, and it held still long enough for me to get a poor picture (which is a slight improvement on no picture!).
Well, I could do better than little brown bird. I knew it was a sparrow, but which one? My bird guy says song sparrow, Melospiza melodia. If he'd posed for me at a better angle, I would have known. If he'd sung for me, I would have known! I'm much better at botany than birds. Nevertheless, a little spark of spring wildlife was welcome.
![song sparrow](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiaNznUXYv1wdFnmjDROc5GnvUKISesb49ZQSez7kcSjiS2ua6ffRcYSiEPj9pwCB3to02o5XMnx6ffPKkN1WIup15ENE8Zr2QWKoo-g8ZEXB55Q7HiRcQpYyNBz9KMoqrZXaKNRbNDkk/s280/songsparrow05.jpg)
![]() | See Song Sparrow |
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The first sparrow back here is usually the Song Sparrow, but I haven't seen one yet this year.
ReplyDeletewe always have a ton of those sparrows at our feeder.
ReplyDeleteI gave up trying to identify sparrows on my own. Peterson's guide lists of sparrows is about as long as my arm. Is it okay if I just call them sparrows?
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