Savanna Sparrow

On Monday on my way back to Elkton from my weekend of camping at the coast, I stopped at the Smith River Estuary to squeeze in one last hour of birding. I parked as I like to at the truck scales on Smith River Road and then walked the road along the estuary.  The road-side brush of blackberry vines and scotch broom were alive with sparrows, Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and Savanna Sparrows as in the photo.  Savanna Sparrows and Song Sparrows are the same size, but immediately you will notice the lighter coloring of the Savanna.  If with a closer look with the binoculars reveals a yellow hued eyebrow that confirms the Savanna identification. The estuary itself had a smattering of other birds, lots of Mallards, a few Gadwalls, and a couple of Egrets, a Great Blue Heron, a Green Wing Teal, a Marsh Wren, a Black Phoebe, and some Canada Geese.  Three Buffleheads were busy diving and eight or so Hooded Mergansers were involved in bathing. A dozen Double-crested Cormorants lined the limbs of a snag, a Spotted Sandpiper worked the muddy flats, and a Red-tailed Hawk flew in to check out his opportunities. But what seem to get the most of my attention were the small sparrows in the brambles that I spent most of my time photographing and identifying.