As I glanced out my window the other morning, I was reminded of those photos you see in birding supply magazines: feeders of every shape and size, hosting no less than three different bird species at once. An American goldfinch, a house finch, a black-capped chickadee and a red-breasted nuthatch might all be pictured sharing the same feeder.

I’ve always wondered if those photos were real, or if they were perhaps manipulated to make the product more appealing. Yet, what I saw out my window made me realize I was having a live “Photoshop” moment.

The window looks down upon a row of apple trees. In one tree, two birds sat perpendicular to my view, separated by about two feet but otherwise lined up perfectly: a northern mockingbird and a female cardinal. Amazingly, a third bird alighted in the tree in perfect alignment with the first two: a song sparrow.

The sparrow was closest to me and topped it all off by trilling its melodious song, the sound a sweet embodiment of spring.

The neighborhood cardinals and mockingbirds – which are year-round residents – had begun singing a week or so before. While I was delighted by their songs, I was overjoyed to see and hear the song sparrow, for this bird is a migrant and its return is one of the earliest signs of spring.

There is nothing so uplifting as being out on a brisk, late-winter morning and hearing the song sparrow’s voice come drifting through the chill air. The sound of it is reminiscent of a warm, fragrant summer day and automatically lessens the bite of lingering frost.

Song sparrows can over-winter in much of the United States, but this depends upon weather and climate. If temperatures are too severe and snow cover is too deep, they will migrate to the southern U.S. and northern Mexico.

The song sparrow is very interesting in this regard. According to the “Birds of North America” species account, migration is not as affected by changing daylight length as it is in other birds. Scientists have coined the term “migratory restlessness,” when describing the reaction of birds to this change; this has been noted to be less or absent in song sparrows, especially in the fall. Individual birds may migrate one year and remain the next, all depending upon the prevalence of mild weather.

Although they are most often associated with open, grassy and shrubby areas, song sparrows utilize a wide range of habitats, including forest edges and riparian areas. They prefer to forage for insects and seeds under the cover of dense thickets and weedy areas and can often be heard singing from these places as well. People wishing to attract the birds can do so simply by adding a brush pile somewhere on their property; this has the added benefit of providing shelter to other birds when needed.

According to the BNA account, the song sparrow population appears to be doing well overall, although small populations in California have become extirpated due to habitat destruction. In some cases, human activity has helped; here in Maine, clear cutting benefits this bird, as it will nest in clear-cuts up to five years post-harvest.

Song sparrows are quick to utilize suburban habitats, as well – a fact that I have always appreciated, but especially so on that morning I saw the bird outside my window, keeping company with cardinals and mockingbirds.

Now, if only I had had my camera ready.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net