F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Savannah Sparrow
Why did Cinderella get kicked off the soccer team?
Because she ran away from the ball.
Interesting Fact: Raising young is hard work: a female Savannah Sparrow must gather 10 times her weight in food to feed herself and her young during the 8 days they are in the nest. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Savannah_Sparrow/ )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 500.
Savannah Sparrow
What can you catch but not in your hands?
A cold!
Interesting Fact: In many parts of the species’ range, especially in coastal areas and islands, Savannah Sparrows tend very strongly to return each year to the area where they hatched. This tendency, called natal philopatry, is the driving force for differentiation of numerous Savannah Sparrow subspecies. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Savannah_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/320, ISO 400.
Song Sparrow
What did the Mummy movie director say when the final scene was done?
Ok, that’s a wrap.
Interesting Fact: Some scientists think that Song Sparrows of wet, coastal areas have darker plumage as a defense against feather mites and other decay agents that thrive in humid climates. The darker plumage contains more of a pigment called melanin, which makes feathers tougher and harder to degrade than lighter, unpigmented feathers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 450.
American Tree Sparrow
Why don’t skeletons fight each other?
They don’t have the guts
Interesting Fact: Misleadingly named by European settlers reminded of Eurasian Tree Sparrows back home, American Tree Sparrows are ground birds. They forage on the ground, nest on the ground, and breed primarily in scrubby areas at or above the treeline. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Tree_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.
White-throated Sparrow
A man asked a waiter. “What is this fly doing in my soup?”
The waiter replied. “It looks like its swimming sir.”
Interesting Fact: During the breeding season the males are aggressive, chasing each other off their territories. “White-striped” forms tend to be more aggressive than “tan-striped” forms. Later in the breeding season this aggressiveness declines, and by fall White-throated Sparrows form large flocks that forage together. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/ 160, ISO 320.
Chipping Sparrow
How do farmers party?
They turnip the beets.
Interesting Fact: The early naturalists had a gift for description you just don’t see anymore. In 1929, Edward Forbush called the Chipping Sparrow “the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes about farmhouse doors to glean crumbs shaken from the tablecloth by thrifty housewives.” ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Song Sparrow
Where do polar bears vote?
The North Poll.
Interesting Fact: The Song Sparrow is found throughout most of North America, but the birds of different areas can look surprisingly different. Song Sparrows of the Desert Southwest are pale, while those in the Pacific Northwest are dark and heavily streaked. Song Sparrows of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain are even darker, and they’re huge: one-third longer than the eastern birds, and weighing twice as much. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/100, ISO 500.
Chipping Sparrow
Why do fish live in salt water?
Because pepper makes them sneeze.
Interesting Fact: In summer, male Chipping Sparrows defend territories against other Chipping Sparrows, but often tolerate other species as long as they don’t go too near the nest. After the breeding season, Chipping Sparrows form flocks of several dozen, foraging together among grasses and at bird feeders. Their flight pattern is energetic, straight, and only slightly undulating. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/800, ISO 250.
White-throated Sparrow
What do you call a fake noodle?
An Impasta
Interesting Fact: White-throated Sparrows eat mainly the seeds of grasses and weeds, including ragweed and buckwheat, as well as fruits of sumac, grape, cranberry, mountain ash, rose, blueberry, blackberry, and dogwood. In summer they eat large numbers of insects that they catch on the forest floor or, occasionally on quick flights out from low vegetation. These include dragonflies, wasps, stinkbugs, beetles, flies, and caterpillars, as well as spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and snails. Parents feed their nestlings almost exclusively animal matter. During winter, White-throated Sparrows readily visit bird feeders for millet and black oil sunflower seeds. In spring they eat the tender buds, blossoms, and young seeds of oak, apple, maple, beech, and elm. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.
Nelson’s Sparrow
Did you hear abut the hungry clock?
It went back four seconds.
Interesting Fact: The Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow formerly was considered the same species as the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, collectively known as the Sharp-tailed Sparrow. The two forms have separate breeding ranges that barely overlap in Maine. They differ in genetics, songs, and subtle plumage characters. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Nelsons_Sparrow/lifehistory )
Through Open Lens 