More Sparrows

Another Fox Sparrow at our feeder

Fox Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco

Yesterday we mentioned we had 4 Fox Sparrows at the feeders. Let's face it, sparrows are not the easiest birds to identify. All their subtle brown coloring often earns them the name, "LBJ's" (no, that is not a reference to the 36th President of the United States, it means "little brown jobs"). The Fox Sparrows that visit our feeders are a little easier to ID because they are of the very red subspecies, so their foxy color gives them away. They're quite a bit larger than the other sparrows at our feeders, so they stand out. Look at the size difference between the Fox Sparrow and the Junco!

Song Sparrow

More subtle are the Song Sparrows. We're keeping about 6 of them happy with the seed mixture we're supplying. They're very streaked brown with a brown streaked crown that has a grayish central crown streak. The central breast dot (looks like a congregation of dots) stands out.

Tree Sparrow

But don't think you can just tell a Song Sparrow by its breast dot alone, it ain't that easy. Other sparrows also have dots. At our feeders now, are some lovely little Tree Sparrows. Here's one waiting a turn at the feeders. These little cuties have a rusty red crown, a gray face with a rusty eye line and plain gray breast with a central dot. So try and look more closely at your feeders and see who's there. Let us know if you have any Fox Sparrows.

And my job today, besides blogging about "LBJs", is to keep and eye on Phoebe, our Corgi, who was just spayed and who is lounging next to me, her head lolling off the counch. She's supposed to be kept quite and to leave her stitches alone, which, of course, she's not doing. That's why she has that funny bandage thing around her. It's really a piece of tee shirt around her middle. It keeps her from nibbling the stitches and she seems to like it. When we went to pick her up from the vet's they said she'd been as good as gold and hadn't bothered her stitches at all. We thought we'd have no problem. The minute we got home, she wanted to reach down there and nibble. If only we could explain to her that she'll heal soon and the stitches will be out. I think she may know that and appreciates my support and hanging out with her. She's such a sweetie.