When I stepped out of the car at the Pole Farm parking lot, it took only a few moments for the sound to register. There it was, the unmistakeable dropping-Ping-Pong-ball song of the field sparrow.
Field sparrows may actually hang around all year long in this part of the country, but they stop singing sometime in the fall, and I have to wait for them to crank it up again as Spring approaches.
The first field sparrows I heard this year emerged Wednesday morning. I was able to get a peekaboo photo of one of them overhead. Back at the Pole Farm this morning, I heard them again and spotted the one atop this post not far from my parking spot.
The birds in both photos are partially obscured. I look forward to many opportunities for clear shots to come.
Meantime, even if I can’t see them fully, their clear, sweet song tells me that more and more nice days lie ahead.
The Jersey Birder 