As Eddy and I made our morning rounds, we heard a song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) singing in the bare maple tree just overhead. Here’s a picture of this operatic creature from my phone. Moments later, a couple of gossiping crows flew low over the tree and the song sparrow took off.
For a small bird — Sibley says it can grow to six inches in length and weigh just 20 grams, or less than an ounce) the song sparrow boasts a seriously loud vocalization. “Song is a variable series of trills and clear notes with slightly husky quality and pleasant, gentle rhythm; begins with several short, sharp notes, usually one long trail in the middle of song. Call a very distinctive husky jimp. Flight call a high thin level seet.” I had to consult AI for information about the volume. “At a distance of 1 meter, a song sparrow typically sings at roughly 65 to 72 dB,” Gemini told me, which is louder than smaller warblers but softer than the 100-dB red-winged blackbird, which I added to my life list just a couple of days ago. Here are some illustrations from the Sibley book, Sibley Birds East (Link to referral links policy), which are far more edifying that my hasty photo! I am open to suggestions for a “real” camera!
We’ve seen and heard the song sparrows in the morning since mid-March. They arrive with robins and the red-winged blackbirds, as if they are all members of the same chorus. It’s hard to believe it’s been a month already.
Almanac
Today’s Forecast: Sunny conditions expected around 1PM. The lowest Feels Like temperature was 41° around 8AM.
| Weather | ||
|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature: 42 | High Temperature: 57 | Precipitation (in): 0.4 |
| Wind Direction: NNE | Max Wind (mph): 15 | |
| Sunrise: 5:46 | Sunset: 7:21 | |
| Lunar Phase: New moon | Days to Next Full: 14 |
References
filters:
and:
- date==this.date
- file.folder.contains("Periodics")
views:
- type: table
name: Daily Almanac
order:
- file.name
- forecast
- low temp
- hi temp
- precip
- wind dir
- max wind
- moon
- days-to-full
- sunrise
- sunset
columnSize:
property.forecast: 286