The Song Sparrow has one of the most joyous songs in nature. If you close your eyes and listen, you can just imagine yourself walking down a path through the forest, in a fairy tale. You can listen to several of those joyous songs here.
I found this LBJ (little brown job) at Anderson River Park back in March. He was singing almost continuously for me and I stayed and soaked it all in. Song Sparrows have highly variable plumages and several recognized subspecies, depending on their habitat and location.
You can usually identify them because of their heavy breast streaks that merge into a large central spot and their broad grayish eyebrow. I think they have a beautiful pattern of browns, grays and whites but their most adorable feature is their song. Maybe that’s where they got the name?
To see more beautiful bird photos, get on over to Bird Photography Weekly for their two year anniversary!
I really enjoy watching birds bathe in my backyard. They will use the hanging birdbath in the front of the house but they prefer bathing in the moving water provided by the water feature in back. Of course the birds have many more choices of locations to drink and bathe from the water feature than they do from a standard birdbath. This allows many birds to interact with one another and makes bird watching sometimes quite amusing!
This is part of a series of photos I took of a House Finch taking a bath in the moving water. She didn’t start by sticking her head under the water but that is where I begin with the first image above.
Oh that’s refreshing
Aahhhhhh
Let’s cool down those axillaries
Are you having fun watching me?
A little stretch and…
oh, I’m just going to get totally wet…
a little spin and I’m off for some preening and air dry
What a way to spend a hot afternoon by the pond. If you like watching birds, your going to love Bird Photography Weekly! Go check it out!
Green Heron Diving From A Willow Tree photos by Larry Jordan
I heard the load skyow call of this Green Heron and watched as it flew into the top of a willow tree, overlooking Secluded Pond at Lema Ranch. It perched atop the willow for quite awhile before diving down toward the water
Then pulling up and flying to the edge fo the reeds where it continued its fishing activities in earnest.
I have yet to get close enough to a Green Heron to get a good photograph. They are generally a shy species, avoiding human activity. One of the most interesting things about them however, is that they bait fish. They will drop insects, worms, feathers, or other small objects into the water and wait for fish to come to them, making them one of the few know tool using bird species. Watch this video.
Song Sparrow Singing photos by Larry Jordan
Double Rainbow Over Secluded Pond At Lema Ranch
Oh that’s refreshing
Aahhhhhh
Let’s cool down those axillaries
Are you having fun watching me?
A little stretch and…
oh, I’m just going to get totally wet…
a little spin and I’m off for some preening and air dry
Green Heron Diving From A Willow Tree photos by Larry Jordan
Social Media Connect