#2853 "Song Sparrow Sing"

#2853 "Song Sparrow Sing"
20x16 inches oils on canvas.
Start Monday, April 15th, 2024

I could almost hear the song of the sparrow when I first saw this image. If you look closely at the canvas you will also see the notes brushed into the thick oils. I really had fun trying to bring this little bird to life on the canvas. That is what art is all about for me - plus the memories that they preserve and that I get to view again and again. Song Sparrows are found in all kinds of habitats and we see and hear them frequently at Singleton. 

My friend John Verburg recorded this excellent moment in the marsh. John provides a tremendous source of inspiration during the winter when the windchill encourages me to stay within the Singleton Studio. 

Song Sparrows eat many insects and other invertebrates in the summer, as well as seeds and fruits all year round. Prey includes weevils, leaf beetles, ground beetles, caterpillars, dragonflies, grasshoppers, midges, craneflies, spiders, snails, and earthworms. Plant foods include buckwheat, ragweed, clover, sunflower, wheat, rice, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mulberries, and wild cherries. Food types vary greatly depending on what's common across the Song Sparrow's extensive range. In British Columbia, Song Sparrows have even been observed picking at the droppings of Glaucous-winged Gulls. Oh my...

Song Sparrows walk or hop on the ground and flit or hop through branches, grass, and weeds. Song Sparrows stay low and forage secretively, but males come to exposed perches, including limbs of small trees, to sing. Courting birds fly together, fluttering their wings, with tails cocked up and legs dangling. Song Sparrows are primarily monogamous, but up to 20 percent of all Song Sparrows sire young with multiple mates each breeding season. In autumn, juvenile Song Sparrows may band together in loose flocks around berry trees or water sources. Flight is direct and low on broad, rounded wings. Song sparrows often fly only short distances between perches or to cover, characteristically pumping the tail downward as it flies. 

• Clutch Size: 1-6 eggs 
• Number of Broods: 1-7 broods 
• Egg Length: 0.7-0.9 in (1.7-2.3 cm) 
• Egg Width: 0.6-0.7 in (1.4-1.7 cm) 
• Incubation Period: 12-15 days 
• Nestling Period: 9-12 days 
• Egg Description: Blue, blue-green, or gray-green spotted with brown, red-brown, or lilac. 
• Condition at Hatching: Naked with sparse blackish down, eyes closed, clumsy. 

Song Sparrows are widespread and common across most of the continent, but populations have declined by about 27% between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 130 million and rates them 8 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern. These birds have vanished from two islands off Southern California, the result of more frequent fires and introduced hares that have altered the sparrows' habitat. Wetland losses in the San Francisco Bay area have led to declining populations of a saltmarsh race of the Song Sparrow in that area. 

I use these art posts to also relearn or discover for the first time, some natural history facts about the world around us. It is more of a challenge to assist and preserve something that one does not understand or appreciate. Thank you for reading this far...  Education is a way of life and may it never get old.

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick