Spring Sparrows

I was walking through a fallow field in Marion when I saw a brown tail edged with white disappear into the vegetation. I did a little stalking, wondering if there could be a longspur. Nope, a Vesper Sparrow watches me from behind cover. Vesper must have felt confident that my camera couldn't focus through the vegetation and sat still, but somehow I got lucky.

Sometimes I can be too quick to dismiss a sparrow as just another Song. I was birding along the Sugar Creek when this guy popped up. After doing a double take, I realized that I had a Swamp Sparrow.

Their song is very different, plus the unstreaked breast stands out. It took some positioning before I managed to get a picture of this shy bird.

I was standing in my backyard with my binoculars, when I noticed a sparrow watching me from my neighbor's shrub. I kicked myself mentally for not having my camera. I went and got it. By that time, this Lincoln's Sparrow had flown to the grape arbor.

For about several days this week, the White-crowned Sparrows were thick in our backyard, visiting at the feeder and eating dandelion seeds.

They disappeared as quickly as they came. I am glad I got to see and listen to them while they were here. To me, they look like they are wearing a bicycle helmet.