Bird silhouette. A crow hunting/ scavenging in Hampton Marsh.

I parked at the end of Depot Road and walked the old rail bed with the dog this morning. (I visited on April 12 too.)

I love this way into Hampton Marsh. They say it will be a publicly accessible, fixed up rail trail someday and I have mixed feelings about that.

Lots of crows in the marsh today. My theory is that recent super high tides and rain flooding have left fish stranded high and dry. Or else some bugs or other invertebrates are hatching out.

I like crows. They are people-watchers, among other things. They study us… and are rightfully wary – though also never very  far away.

Savannah Sparrow along the old rail bed.

With this bird I have reached a new level of sparrow knowledge. “Savannah Sparrow” was my first guess to Google, I don’t know why. It’s not one I have seen and known before.

On both their summer and winter ranges, Savannah Sparrows live in grasslands with few trees, including meadows, pastures, grassy roadsides, sedge wetlands, and cultivated fields planted with cover crops like alfalfa. Near oceans, they also inhabit tidal saltmarshes and estuaries.

Named for Savannah, Georgia, these pretty little birds are in their summer range here.

Boy with a Crow, Akseli Gallen-Kallela 1884