Good morning, Newdists. It’s Caturday, and as I write this diary, it is 80 days to election day.
- Have you applied for your absentee ballot?
- If not, when will you apply for it?
- If not, do you have a plan for voting?
- Do you know where your polling station is located?
- Do you have protective gear like a good mask, a face shield, and some gloves and some good outdoor gear, in case it’s going to rain?
- What time will you go out to vote?
- If voting via absentee ballot by mail, how soon before election day will you put your ballot in the mail?
- Have you thought of driving your ballot to the main post office near you?
- Have you considered driving your ballot to the county drop box?
- Do you know where the drop box is located?
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Diary bird: Song Sparrow — Melospiza melodia
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One of the most common and widespread sparrows. Found in a variety of scrubby habitats both near and far from human development. Significant variation in plumage geographically. Look for thick brown streaks on whitish breast. Larger, longer-tailed and more rusty than Savannah Sparrow. Frequently visits feeders. LINK
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Very widespread in North America, this melodious sparrow is among the most familiar birds in some areas, such as the Northeast and Midwest. At times it is rather skulking in behavior, hiding in the thickets, seen only when it flies from bush to bush with a typical pumping motion of its tail. Usually, however, sheer numbers make it conspicuous. Song Sparrows vary in appearance over their wide range, from large dark birds on the Aleutians to small pale ones in the desert Southwest. LINK
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Song sparrows are ground scratching foragers. They also forage in very shallow waters, and trees and shrubs, and will often visit the nearest bird feeder, as long as it has some cover from predators. In the summers they eat mostly insects like beetles, caterpillars, ants, grasshoppers, spiders and such. They also eat seeds of grass and weeds, more so in the winter months. Those living near water will even eat small fishes and mollusks. There are usually 4 eggs in the nest and both parents will feed the young. Song sparrows rarely nests in tree cavities. Also —
Males often defend only small nesting territories, so high densities of Song Sparrows may be present in good habitat. In courtship, male may chase female; may perform fluttering flight among the bushes with neck outstretched and head held high. Nest site varies, usually on ground under clump of grass or shrub, or less than 4' above the ground, sometimes up to 10' or higher. LINK
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The song sparrow is, obviously, a singer that sings thought the year. Here is a site that has a recording of a song. Please visit that site and listen to the small feathered singer.
Young male Song Sparrows learn about 10 songs from adult tutors - sometimes from their fathers, but not always. And they learn in stages: 1) "subsong," when the birds babble in a quiet and unstructured way; 2) the "plastic" stage, which contains recognizable adult syllables but is still wobbly, uncertain; and 3) the "crystallized" song, with notes that are well formed and repeated with little variation. LINK
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Newdists, please grab a cuppa and something to nosh, admire some more photos, and join us in the thread.
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All are welcome to join the fun, the silliness, the conversations. If you don’t know...just ask! Some things really do require a bit of explanation.
There will be a few surprises along the way, all good ones, we hope.
We are here to keep building the Daily Kos Community.
We post Mon-Sun at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Pie fights will be met with outrageous ridicule and insults. Trolls will be incinerated and served at the next group BBQ. As briquettes.
Painted Houses
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Ndebele Huts in Pretoria National Botanical Garden.
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Flyonovo
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Tiébélé, Burkina Faso
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Mandawa, Rajasthan.
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Čičmany, Slovakia
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Zalipie, Poland
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Louka, Czech Republic
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New Day Cafe is an open thread.
What do you want to talk about today?
