On Fridays I fix meals for a relative who is on dialysis.  After starting
supper around 4 o'clock, I took a quick 20-minute walk along a stream
between cultivated fields.  It was a typical Ohio farmland mini-riparian
area, shrubby with some tall sycamores and walnut trees.



The usual suspects:

Eastern meadowlark

Common grackles

Cowbirds

Mourning doves

Rock pigeons

Starlings

Song sparrows

Chipping sparrows

House sparrows

Barn swallows

Two flickers

A tufted titmouse

A female Baltimore oriole

A few chimney swifts still hanging around.  (Does anyone know if they might
nest in unused concrete silos?)





Warblers:

Yellow

Palm

Common yellowthroat

A couple of unidentified female warblers



But, the best bird was a real surprise - an Ohio first for me:

Lincoln sparrow



I had to study it for several minutes - and it was pretty cooperative -
because I'm just not used to seeing this particular sparrow.  But, by ruling
out all other possibilities, that's what it had to be.  It was classic
textbook - p. 499 in Sibley.  I'm finally learning what to look for when
identifying sparrows.  It has taken at least four years of consistent and
persistent study, and I don't always get the identification on the first
try.  And sometimes, a sparrow remains unidentified.  That just happened
earlier this week.  But, I'm making progress.  It feels good!



Anyway, it was a nice end to a stressful work week.



Margaret Bowman

Licking Co., OH




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