H.J. Ruiz – Avian101 – Page 718 – "My Backyard Visitors" – All about birds

Savannah Sparrow

The Savannah Sparrow – Latin name: Passerculus sandwichensis
This is a small American sparrow.
The common name comes from Savannah, Georgia, where one of the first specimens of this bird was collected.
This species has a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and whitish underparts with brown or blackish breast and flank streaking. It has whitish crown and supercilium stripes, sometimes with some yellow (more often near the beak). The cheeks are brown and the throat white. The flight feathers are blackish-brown with light brown or white border. The eyes are dark. The feet and legs are horn-colored, as is the lower part of the bill, with the upper part being dark grey.

Savannah Sparrow

The Savannah Sparrow is a very variable species, with numerous subspecies, several of which have been split as separate species at various times. The different forms vary principally in the darkness of the plumage. The variation generally follows Gloger’s Rule, with Alaskan and interior races the palest, and southwestern coastal forms the darkest. There are some exceptions, though, most conspicuously in some island populations that presumably were strongly affected by founder effects.
The Savannah Sparrows proper are very similar, and migrant birds can not usually be related to a breeding population with certainty. The resident or partially migratory subspecies are well distinguishable by size and, particularly between groups, coloration.
These birds forage on the ground or in low bushes; particularly in winter they are also found in grazed low-growth grassland. They mainly eat seeds, but also eat insects in the breeding season. They are typically encountered as pairs or family groups in the breeding season, and assemble in flocks for the winter migration. The flight call is a thin seep. Sensu lato, the Savannah Sparrow is considered a threatened species by the IUCN.The song is mixture of chirps and trills.
NOTE: The Savannah Sparrow is a new addition to my List of Birds as: # 201

Text © Wikipedia – Photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101

Tags: birds, nature, photography, photos of birds, Savannah Sparrow

Georgia Blues

You may probably remember that not long ago I wrote that a couple of Eastern Bluebirds where in my backyard looking for some real estate (Bird house) to make it a nest of their own! If you don’t remember is fine. These birds returned and have already began the process of gathering their twigs and other things necessary for a sheltered comfortable nest!
Eastern Bluebirds are no doubt beautiful, I just hope that they are not any interference to other birds lives. One thing, they found the bird box clean and cozy, I had cleaned it a while before because it had been used previously. I cleared the debris of the old nest and left it nice and clean for new tenants. I guess this incentive worked!

They are welcome!

I’ve been watching more birds coming for seeds, in fact I’ll be buying more this week.
The list of birds that I’ve photographed lately is:

Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
American Crow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Wren
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Junco
Mourning Dove
Northern Mockingbird

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Text and photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101

Tags: birds, Eastern Bluebird, nature, photography, photos of birds

It Felt so Good!

On Friday I got my mower gassed up and couldn’t wait any longer so I went out to my backyard and mowed the lower part of the small creek. There’s grass in between the trees, the ones I trimmed the lower branches the day before. I did about three hours of non stop work, it felt especially good because it was sunny but soothing cool for doing any kind of work. I finished the job and I didn’t feel tired at all!

For my next chorus I have in mind trim some or maybe all the tall grass that I have growing on the slope that leads to the bottom of the creek.

If you have noticed, my photos have a blurry golden background or yellowish bokeh, that color effect is created by the tall grass that is dormant now. I will eventually mow that slope once it gets green again.

I did shot a good number of pictures, included are some of a Dark-eyed Junco! I haven’t seen one in near five years. I was happy about it. That’s one thing about photographing birds, the fact that you never know what species are you going to find for shooting day.