Melospiza Melodia

 

I was planting tomatoes in my back yard this week and I heard baby birds chirping from a thicket in the back corner of my yard. As I approached, a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) popped out! Its been an interesting Spring/Early summer. I have not seen a single Hummingbird in my backyard, but I have a Song Sparrow singing its heart out every half hour or so. I think the Latin name for the sparrow is pretty cool as well... Melospiza melodia. Melospiza is a native Sparrow category and Melodia hints at melody ... Song Sparrow! If you do not know the sound of a Song Sparrows song, you owe it to yourself to listen to it from the allaboutbirds.org site.  I can see a certain pleasure in knowing the latin names of bird species but that would be a slow go. Props to Stuart (Citta Canadianis) for the keeping those scientific names on the forefront!

I've been walking Ojibway Park alot lately. Nothing really new or out of the ordinary to talk about. I still really enjoy just walking and seeing an Eastern Bluebird or Indigo Bunting. I seem to see them and hear them easily now.

 I would love to get a breathtaking photo of an eastern bluebird, but I can't seem to get much closer than 30m to this bird. To get better shots, I will either have to get really lucky or consider using a blind. These photos here are hand-held at 500mm, and heavily cropped. Any other suggestions?

I photographed what I think is a recently fledged Eastern Bluebird. Its colours are not so bright, and it has spots on its belly. 

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Some birds seen today include House Wren (feeding its babies), Eastern wood Pewee, and a Pied billed Grebe.

I'm not the world's biggest hockey fan, but I have to support Vancouver on their quest for the cup.