August!?!

Whoa! Now where's this coming from? I'm definitely not ready for August but I must say I'll take today's weather (and most of July's) any day, any where! Love this...we'll think back on it fondly once the heat and humidity returns.

Song Sparrow

This weather really reminds me of the summers we used to spend at our small place in NE Minnesota...in fact this weather has been giving me pangs of pleasant memories there. If I were to close my eyes I'd swear we were there once more, sitting on Lake Superior's north shore listening to the Song Sparrows serenading along the shoreline Tag Alders. I remember the local Song Sparrows there and the birds here in NW Iowa had a distinct difference in their songs; oh it was the same song for sure but you could hear there was something like a regional accent coloring one area's song from another.

Common Yellowthroats (female top - male bottom)

Our Prairie Hill Farm Song Sparrows have been very vocal the past 2-3 weeks, as have our prairie remnant's small population of Common Yellowthroats. The Yellowthroat's calls aren't as melodic as the Song Sparrows but still nice music to the ears. These little guys are a little more on the "pretty" side...at least the "males" are. Georgie likes to call them "little bandits" because of the black mask across the male's face. The female is much more non-descript than the male...more of an olive green/yellow plumage with no real obvious markings. You hear these little birds more than you see them; you have to get into their habitat and seek them out when they sing their "witchy, witchy, witchy, witch" call.

Better get back to work here, but the distractions and the weather are great!