White-throat, sweet voice

Today's offering is a white-throated sparrow singing his beautiful song. Here's what AllAboutBirds.org has to say about the song of the white-throat:

White-throated Sparrows sing a pretty, thin whistle that sounds like Oh-sweet-canada-canada or Old-Sam-Peabody-Peabody. The whistles are even but typically move slightly up or down in pitch by the second or third note. The whole song lasts about 4 seconds. White-throated Sparrows sing often during the breeding season, even in the middle of the day, and on their winter range as well.

And if you'd like to hear it, you can listen to two short recordings on their website HERE.

I chose this today from a selection of gold and purple finches and cowbirds. Since these sparrows don't breed in my part of the country, they will soon be leaving for their northern breeding grounds and I won't see them again until the fall. Besides, they are such beautiful sparrows with their bright white "bib" and their funky yellow eye brows. And that song ... so beautiful! Add to that, he posed so willingly on the cherry tree which is finally blooming.

I posted the also-ran shots on Flickr, starting here.

Thank you for your kind comments about yesterday's goldfinch. There were at least 20 of them flitting around the yard today, along with about a dozen purple finches - quite a sight and the air was filled with song.

Weird weather today - much warmer than yesterday, but gusty winds and thunderstorms - not a great day for getting out on the trails because the storms roll through too quickly. And tomorrow we will be back down in the mid-50s with rain showers. Yuck. The wind has made it impossible to photograph the bees on the cherry tree - the branches are moving around so much that all my attempts were a blurry mess. So, thank goodness for the birds!

Happy Friday!!