Birding friend, and excellent photographer, Paul Hueber emailed me about a small flock of Swamp Sparrows and a Song Sparrow he found at Lake Lotus yesterday. The Song Sparrow is an excellent bird for Florida.
This morning, I added myself to the Swamp Sparrow list.
I headed out to fill feeders just as the Sun was trying to fight through the clouds being spun our way by Tropical system Noel. Sometime overnight, the winds felled a frond from the palm in the back so I decided to move it off of the deck and onto the palm frond resting place in teh backyard.
On the way out I noticed a small bird making an escape through the 4 O' Clocks along the back fence. I stopped where I was and figured I would try to pish it up. Once. Twice. Then movement as the bird came back to check out the sound.
I could see the branches of plants shaking, indicating an advancing bird, and waited a few seconds. Out popped the bird. A Swamp Sparrow!
I figured that was all the action I was going to see but it decided to drop down into the yard and began picking at seed heads provided by some new weeds under the sunflower feeder. It made it's way from plant to plant and eventually just about 6 feet in front of where I was standing.
I guess it figured I was just a harmless bit of flora as I was still holding the frond in front of me. I wanted to see how close it would get but had the kids waiting to go off to school. This would have to be my only view. For now.
This is not THE bird, but rather a Swamp Sparrow from earlier in the year.
Time to hone those Sparrow ID skills again. Finally!
Wekiva banding could prove a little more interesting this weekend now that a front is pushing down and will also provide some cooler temperatures.
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