A New Year's Visit to the Brush Piles

Since we have sunshine I decided to visit the brush piles on our little 29 acre farm and wanted to share some of the birds I saw.

This is a Fox Sparrow and only the 2nd one I have seen this winter.

Trying to hide....

The Harris's Sparrow is still here...yippee...what a welcomed visitor!

No brush pile is complete without a White-crowned Sparrow...when they start singing all the other birds seem to come out of hiding.

Another Sparrow..a Song Sparrow this time....hmmm...now that I think about it, I've never heard them sing!

another Song...

You can see how well he/she blends in with the surroundings.

This male Northern Cardinal stands out in a crowd!

him too!!

I started the day wanting to get some pics of the White-throated Sparrow.

We have 6 brush piles and I only see them at one!

The Dark-eyed Juncos are everywhere!

There were also many Yellow-rumped Warblers...and they didn't want their picture taken!

The Tufted Titmouse was not very cooperative either!

and the Carolina Chickadees refused to look my way...grrrrrr

The Carolina Wren was being it's usual wren-self!! LOL!

This American Robin stayed in the shadows....

This American Goldfinch showed up to let me know that I needed to get home and put out some bird seed!!

And when I got home they were all pigging out!!

Here is a view of a few of the brush piles from our house looking up the back field.

Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed some of the birds of the Ozarks...Happy New Year everyone!!

Rose

What a wonderful variety of birds you've got there. The photos are wonderful.

Great job Rose! Thanks for sharing these with us!

Rose,

Happy New Year!

Beautiful pics!

Lucky you to have the Harris's Sparrow! I've never seen one in person, ever. We haven't seen any of the White-crowned Sparrows this year yet, although we see them sometimes in some years in the Fall/Winter. Haven't seen anymore of the Fox Sparrows so far, since the one we saw on a really cold day here this Winter.

Click onto this link and click on the 'arrow' http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=14

Click onto this link and scroll down to the link below 'sound' the hear the Song Sparrow. Once you hear it a few times, you'll know when he's out there singing.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Song_Sparrow.html#sound

Such a sweet song! :-)

Thanks for sharing!

Marilyn



This message was edited Jan 1, 2009 6:07 PM

Oh that DH would let keep my brush pile year round. It is not very big this year either...what beautiful pics rose. I just adore all the little sparrows!

I have yet to see a White-crowned Sparrow this year. I keep looking on my walks tho and watching in the yard. Had a Fox Sparrow and several White-throated Sparrows today in the yard.

Oh Rose, this was a fun trip. Thanks!

Thanks Duc, Pelle, Marilyn and Nanny!

Marilyn...Thanks for posting the links...now I know what they sound like! I have a hard time remembering sounds so I will listen a kazillion times and try and recognize the sound tomorrow when I head for the hills...umm I mean brush piles!! Thanks again!

Nanny DH was going to burn the brush last year but after seeing all the birds in them he couldn't do it. He is proud of them now and tells all of his farmer friends that they need lots of brush piles. I heard him talking to another farmer yesterday trying to explain how to tell the difference between a Hawk and a Juvie Bald Eagle! LOL...he is becoming a birder!

You're welcome Mrs. Ed...thanks for looking!

dellrose, It is such a coincidence that I came across your thread. I have a sparrow that I have puzzled over for a year or so as to what kind it is. It has a striped head similar to a White-throated Sparrow but a chest marked similar to a Fox sparrow. I'm going to photograph it tomorrow and post it here and ask if you can please ID it for me. I'm so excited that I might finally know what it is! Thanks for the GREAT thread of sparrows! It's just what I needed, right when I needed it.

I'm glad one of us gets out of the house to see such cool birds - I'm way too lazy for that ;-) [and that's why we have these forums! w00t!]

evie, are you still sipping some bubbly??

3g...now you've got me curious!

Evie...I didn't have to go too far..just out the door...I'm a slug on most days but the sun has been too scarce to waste!

Nanny...LOL!

Really special, Rose. Beautiful birds. How good it is the DH is getting hooked. (Hint: buy him a camera).

Ha... Margaret...yes I think he needs a Canon 50D and a 700mm lens! LOL! Thanks for the idea!!

those are all out your door?? I'm SO jealous!!

and while that is easier than going someplace, you still have to get dressed all warm. I can't be bothered ;-) [well I do...you're in 5b so you've got it easier by comparison]

and no bubbly for me....I just hate getting all dressed up to go outside for a bit. Feeding the birds has become a chore in this single digit weather!

I know what you mean Evie..single digits aren't my thing either...makes my trigger finger freeze!! When it gets that cold here I just shoot through the window...as I said I am a slug!! LOL!

Oh well, yeah single digits are a whole different thing. Thru the window if its below 30 degrees here, depending on the wind! lol

You're so lucky to have all those brush piles rose, and you always manage to get such fantastic pics! You have an amazing variety of Sparrows there too.

I'm suffering a little from lack of opportunity this winter, the sun rarely shines. :(

I'm having a hard time finding birds to photograph today. I wonder why? ;-)



I'll get those sparrow photos as soon as I can get rid of the neighbors cat. Their out of town and he's bored and lonely.

d'oh. that's kinda funny picture though.

Makes me miss farm life Rose. Those brush piles gives you a lot of birds to photograph, I love your photos.

Well, here goes. Your photos actually got me to take photos of my own sparrows and compare them to yours and stop simply guessing at what I had.

According to your listings:

I think this is a Fox Sparrow: