The Craftiest Workshop

One day recently I was chatting with my mom and she mentioned that she had heard a sparrow somewhere nearby. My immediate question was, “What kind of sparrow?”

Her reply back was, “Oh, I don’t know, the kind we would hear when we used to camp at the lake.”

I immediately knew that it had been a White-Throated Sparrow. That distinct sound carried across the lake and somehow the water amplified the call.

In this video can hear the White-Throated Sparrow followed by the buzz buzz of the Clay-Coloured Sparrow. Try to ignore the caws of the Franklin’s Gulls flying overhead.

A few years back I could not have identified any sparrow and I might have even assumed there was only one kind. Now, after paying attention, and living in the country, I know that there are many different kinds of sparrows and they all have distinct songs.

We have a book entitled “Nature An Illustrated Guide to Common Plants and Animals Alberta” written by James Kavanagh. I am including pictures of the sparrows from there to show you how similar they all look with only slight distinctions.

I decided to try to write down the notes that the sparrows around us use to make their song. I started with the two easiest, the White-Throated Sparrow and the Vesper Sparrow. The Vesper is actually not that common for our area but has been here the last two years.

The White-Throated Sparrow sings two different patterns. I am unclear if the male sings the first and the female replies or the male sings both varying things up to seem more interesting. Apparently some of these sparrows in the eastern half of the country add an extra beat so instead of a dotted eighth and eighth (Can-a), it would be a triplet (Can-a-da).

The Vesper Sparrow has my favourite tune.
They have taken up residence in my branch piles and sit on them in the morning singing away.

Here is another video clip captured within minutes of the other video where you can hear the Song Sparrow followed by the Vesper Sparrow before it is cut off by the Song Sparrow again.

The Song Sparrow’s tune is very quick so I am not sure I have the correct pitches. The circled note means that it makes a sound that seems over blown or buzzed but you can still make out the pitch.

The Savannah Sparrow enjoys hanging out in the fields. Anytime we walk near the field to our south they fly out as we disturb their quiet.

Here is the Clay-Coloured Sparrow sitting in our pussy willow tree.
It makes an odd buzzing sound which kind of reminds me of a June Bug (yuck).

It seems to always be just two buzzes.

The Chipping Sparrow sounds like it is panicking every time you hear it.
A high pitch with a really fast repetition.

These other sparrows aren’t mentioned in the Alberta Nature book but I have definitely heard and seen them.

I first heard and saw the American Tree Sparrow last fall near our pond. A group of them had come and hung out for about a week. I heard one again this spring which makes me think that we are just a stop over on their migration path.

The last sparrow to arrive this spring was the Lincoln’s Sparrow. It hangs out between our property and the neighbours.

The Swamp Sparrow has a distinct repetitive note pattern. As expected by its name, it likes to hang out near water.

I am very good at hearing a tune once and remembering it. Perhaps that is why I find it easy to identify the birds that I hear. Just today I heard a House Wren for the first time this season and, sure enough, I saw that it was back building a nest in the same birdhouse as last year.

I should explain my title for this post. The message in the hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow” is telling us that if God takes care of every little sparrow then he surely will take care of you. Hearing and seeing all these different sparrows living in such a small area, each with their own distinct look and sound and thriving, really does make me feel the presence of God every day.