The lucky cattle had two each, Tom. Every cow had her own bird. We do have interesting birds. When we took the tour of the LBJ ranch, the guide made a big deal about the blue heron in the Perenales River. We have those, too, and great white herons, too. Here's a closer look at cattle egrets. Each has a brown streak on his 'shoulder' and a bright yellow bill. Flowerlady, here's a link to the blooming meadow pics. I did get 3 kinds of poppies, silene and a smattering of others, including a pink petunia that I don't remember sowing the seeds. Maybe it fell in with something else. Here is a link that might be useful: Last Meadow Thread

I think they are sparrows, but I'm not a bird expert. I'm fairly certain they are scoping out the insects, particularly the hornworms, as they seem to know that they hide out on the underside of the leaves, as evidenced by the fact that the birds like to get inside the plant and look up (in additokn to ripping the leaves off the top). What I would really like to determine is if the birds are pecking at the fruit. I have not seem them do that, but that doesn't mean that they aren't. Today, at one point there were at least 6 birds on my plants at the same time (they brought friends with them). I got my camera, but when I got close to the slider to film them, they scattered and didn't come back (I tried to be slow and sneaky, but they spooked anyway). If the birdies are just looking for bugs, I don't mind losing a few leaves here and there. But if I see just one of them pecking at a tomato, I'm going to have to do something, like invest in some netting. I've tried putting out a saucer of water for them, but so far they show no interest in it. I enjoy watching the birds and am fascinated by their behavior, but I wish they would stop vandalizing my tomatoes! The way they have been adding to their numbers, it's like they've started a gang!

Thanks so much. After looking it up, I do believe what I've seen are Savannah Sparrows. I've never seen them before, so that is kind of neat.

Rachel, I have a couple books, but not Sibley (yet) so I can't see it. It sounds like from what you are saying that my picture looks like theirs and so you'd agree it's a hybrid? Cool! Unfortunately, he was just here that one day and I didn't get a chance to hear him sing. I'm glad I got the pictures, though!