Since I’d volunteered to work from 9-11 Friday at Theler Gardens, I started walking at 7:45, earlier than usual. It was cooler and damper than I’m used to, but the combination of sunshine and moisture highlighted the brilliant spider webs
lining the trail, a sure sign around here that Fall is near, despite the day’s 80º.
With the sun low in the horizon, it was hard to tell if this was another Savannah Sparrow
or a more common sparrow basking in the sun’s golden warmth.
There was no mistaking the brilliant reds on this little guy which I first mistook for a Purple Finch, but decided after considerable browsing was probably an immature male House Finch, though once again I might easily be wrong.
Although there still weren’t many birds and no sign of Fall’s usual southern migration, there were more song birds than I’ve seen in a couple of weeks of walking.