no good with sparrows

I’m no good with sparrows. I can recognize the perky little chipping sparrow and I know the big house sparrow but that is the extent of my ability to differentiate among the species. Most  Ohio birds, I can name at a moment’s notice. Even if I only catch a glimpse of them I can make an excellent guess at what they might have been. But sparrows are just ‘sparrows.’ Now that might impress the backyard neighbor, but any true birding aficionado will be scandalized. I’m sorry I just cannot tell the difference between, or rather ‘among’ them. Oh yes, in the bird book I can read all of the info and say to myself, ‘next time I’ll remember this’ but it never happens.

( This isn't my own photo, but just so that anyone interested can see what a chipping sparrow looks like)

I got started thinking about them as I had lunch on the deck with the dogs and the birds today. Rachael has two bird feeders and several cakes of suet hanging on the little tree right off the deck. The sparrows did not appreciate my sitting at the table not ten feet away and having my cold pizza and apple slices. They all came flocking into the tree several times but never could work up the nerve to land at the feeders. Finally, wouldn’t you know, a cheeky little chipping sparrow hopped first to the big square feeder. When he found it was empty he flitted over to the smaller cylindrical one. It had a bit of seed left and he proceeded to help himself. No one else was brave enough!

I finished my coffee while I watched him and then began getting my things together to come inside. By the time my crutches and I had navigated from the door to the kitchen window, the feeders were flooded with larger sparrows, acting as though they owned the spaces. The little chipping sparrows flitted through the others still getting there share of the seed.

I enjoyed my time outside. If I had thought to bring my laptop along I might be there still. The weather is quickly down sizing into fall and the last few nights have been downright cold. Today it was just pleasant to sit out. Had I been in the sun it might have become uncomfortable but where I sat at the table in the shade it was really nice. Wish some of my kids could have been there with me.

On another note, Michael’s sister Megan and her husband left for Greece this morning at 9:00. They drove in last night to stay with us because we happen to be only about five or ten minutes from Port Columbus. How neat it is to think about going to Greece. I’ve never had any desire to go to Europe except to see Scotland maybe. But the more I think of Greece, the more I think it might be interesting. They are simply flying over and they must have reservations at a hotel, but from there they plan to wing it and do their own thing. That’s the way I think I’d like to go.

Rachael and Michael are hoping for a trip to Alaska in the next year or two. They’ve not had a real vacation for—well, since their wedding trip. The last two years, they have used most of their vacation time to come after me and haven’t had the money to do much else. Rachael begins her management job here in a couple weeks and Michael is looking at a really decent raise so they plan to stash part of those raises in a Vacation Fund. They have friends in Alaska who have promised a place to stay once they get there! WOW.

Okay, I’m all involved in looking at the birding guide I just found online so here it is: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search.aspx If you like birding, check it out.