The Song Sparrow and Free Stuff
In general, we tended to group various sparrows, wrens, warblers, and finches into a category we called "Little Brown Birds" (aka "LBBs"). The sad thing is that the LBBs are so ubiquitous in these parts, that we rarely took careful note of them. That is, until the wife spotted one in the front yard. We were fortunate to get a good close look at him and snap the picture above. (I can only wonder how many great shots I got with the NovaBird camera that I subsequently erased because they were just pics of "those common little birds".) What a shame...
Onward to a subject that we can all embrace - free (or nearly free) stuff! Specifically, I'm talking about Freecycle. Their mission statement pretty much says it all... "Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community." The idea behind Freecycle is simple - recycle working stuff by giving it away to people who will use it. It's not a "charity" site... It's not a "dump your junk" site... It's not a, "Let me see what I can find for free and then turn around and sell it on eBay" site... And it's not a "for sale" site... It's a site where people post free unwanted stuff, or ask if anyone out there has some working item that the owner just doesn't want anymore. In short, Freecycle is about community. (Example of Freecycle in action... We had a large box of computer equipment collecting dust... All in working condition, but none of it useful to us anymore. We placed it on Freecycle, and it was in the hands of a very happy and deserving soul by the end of the day.) As for backyard birders (and birders in general), perhaps you have a spare birding book, or need some binoculars... You get the idea.
Anyway, I'll try to do a better job getting close-ups of the LBBs, and perhaps you can partake in Freecycle...
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
