We haven't seen any song sparrows yet, but it is nice to know what birds we should be looking for at this time of year. The song sparrow has a lovely song, (hence it's name). Listen to the recording at the above link.
The sparrows can be quite tricky to tell apart, since they are all brown and roughly the same size. The song sparrow has a black spot in the middle of his breast (a bow tie!) and his breast has some stripes.
It is helpful to know where to look for birds. I've seen the Song Sparrow in my backyard, and at parks. He likes to be near water.
It is difficult, but very useful, to learn the songs of birds (enature.com has a more comprehensive list). All of a sudden you know what birds are there even though you can't see them. Start with the most common birds. Some birds have a little phrase that goes with their song, for example the Robin says: Cheerily, cheery up, cheerio. Some birds sing their name, like the Chickadee.
Kids can learn the songs too, perhaps even easier than us adults. You probably know a few bird songs already. Pick a few more to add to your repetoire. Listen to recordings, or follow that bird song to find out who is singing on your next nature walk.
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