Six White-throated Sparrows
By mid-morning the day remained more cloudy than not. The air felt warm and very humid. The yard had fallen quiet, with no birds singing nearby, though the songs and calls of several could be heard in the woods and down the street. As I walked up the driveway, a White-throated Sparrow flew out of a hedge of wax myrtles into the crape myrtle bush, followed by a second White-throated Sparrow – then a third – and more – until there were six White-throated Sparrows all sitting in the branches of the big crape myrtle, all looking bright and chipper, with cinnamon back streaked in black, gray breast and crisp white throat, white and black striped face and a touch of gold over the bill.
It was an especially nice way to begin a morning walk – and the month – because it has seemed to me that we don’t have as many White-throated Sparrows this winter as usual here. There are always a few around in the usual places, but not in the numbers of previous years.