Around the Spinney

Burgess Birds

  • Sweetvoice, The Vesper Sparrow

    Our final sparrow is Sweetvoice, the Vesper Sparrow. The name that Burgess gave this bird, Sweetvoice, and even Vesper have labeled this Sparrow perfectly and here’s why: Vesper Sparrows sing a sweet tinkling song during the day and well into the evening hours—the twilight of vespers, prompting its name… a sweet series of musical slurs…

  • Attracting Hummingbirds

    We absolutely love hummingbirds. In our area there are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that migrate up for breeding season during Spring and Summer. Last year, we started trying to attract them a little late, but by the end of Summer and definitely by early Fall, we started to have consistent visits from a pair of hummingbirds. This…

  • Sooty, the Chimney Swift

    So, the big question is…. Is a Chimney Swift a swallow? Even Peter thinks that Sooty, the Chimney Swift, is a swallow, but he isn’t! Burgess lets Jenny Wren answers our question, “He hasn’t any one nearer than some sort of second cousins, Boomer the Nighthawk, Whippoorwill, and Hummer the Hummingbird” (Burgess Bird Book, Living…

  • Skimmer, the Tree Swallow

    Skimmer is our next Burgess Bird in detail and he is a beautiful iridescent bird with blueish-green on his back and white on his stomach. We know exactly where to venture in order to see Tree Swallows. We go to the Deer Grove Preserve in our community where there are some open swampy areas. We…

  • Carol, the Eastern Meadowlark

    Eastern Meadowlarks are very common in the prairie grasslands around where I live. Have I seen one? No, not yet, but it is my goal to see one out in the field. How often do you go to a particular ecosystem in order to see a particular bird? Most often, I don’t organize our outings…

  • Weaver, the Orchard Oriole

    Weaver, the Orchard Oriole

    Baltimore Oriole you’ve probably heard of before, but Orchard Oriole? Maybe not. The Orchard Oriole exchanges the beautiful orange of his Baltimore cousin with a chestnut brown. The females are very different from the males, wearing yellow and green feathers. Here is a video of what an Immature Male looks like, much more like the…

  • Goldy, the Baltimore Oriole

    Goldy, the Baltimore Oriole

    Now on to a bird that causes a lot of excitement in the Spring. Who is a cousin of Sally Sly the Brown-headed Cowbird, but who is a lot more popular: Goldy, the Baltimore Oriole. Baltimore Orioles are members of the Blackbird family, but they certainly contain more vibrant colors than others in their family.…

  • Sally Sly, the Brown-headed Cowbird

    Sally Sly, the Brown-headed Cowbird

    Spring Forward, a Pleasure to Hear Springing forward isn’t always the easiest or nicest of events on the calendar, but one thing I really enjoyed this morning is that I was able to hear the birds wake with the dawn and chorus their calls to each other again. I sat reading on the couch in…

  • The Great Backyard Bird Count

    The Great Backyard Bird Count

    This weekend is the 25th annual Great Backyard Bird Count and I couldn’t resist sharing some links for those who want to participate. To learn more about the event, you can check out a free live webinar tomorrow, February 16, 2022. It is designed for all ages and would be a great way to connect…

  • Redhead, the Red-headed Woodpecker

    Redhead, the Red-headed Woodpecker

    Our last Burgess Woodpecker is the Red-headed Woodpecker, a striking bird dressed in deep red, white and black. This is a good time to ask and answer the question, why do woodpeckers drum on wood? When I was growing up I believed that the reason was limited to their search for food, insects living in…

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