Song Sparrow

 

The musical utterances of birds are so tied to their rhythms of increase that they produce a sense of wellbeing also in the human ear, particularly with the lengthening of our days when a sense of new life abounds.

Small numbers of song sparrows have been with us all winter, not very conspicuously, as they don't visit elevated bird feeders. They find what they need almost entirely on the ground, usually along brushy edges. You're likely to see them at (their) safe distance along the roadside margins and meadows of Halibut Point almost any time of year. 

You have to get close to enjoy the variegated browns, russets, and grays that mark a Song Sparrow. Its great distinction is the chest striping that converges to a black shield.

Song Sparrows are winter gleaners. They scratch and forage for vegetative bits wherever an absence of snow cover allows.

To see one hunting for weed seeds in the windswept barrens of the grout pile is to admire one of nature's resilient adaptations.

Come spring and the nutritional demands of parenting, Song Sparrows are able to widen their diet to include insects.

Summer landscapes offer many sorts of sustenance. Male sparrows take to high perches to establish family territories.

Their cheery calls in almost any corner of the Park form a counterpoint in the avian chorus of caws, squawks, and chatter. Close observers of the Song Sparrow, and of course the birds themselves, recognize meaningful variations in its colorful repertoire of songs built around a core pattern that suggests:

-an opening assertion ONE, TWO, THREE

-an ascending, sustained buzzing trill

-a clear, exultant yodel I AM, I AM, I AM.

Keep an eye and ear toward promontories on the moors of Halibut Point for the sweet assertions of these energetic soloists.