Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow on a cold winter day – D200, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) are one of the many birds that I see often during the cold winters of northern Utah. I see flocks of adults and first year birds in dried pigweed, grasses and small shrubs. Though sparrow species aren’t brightly colored I find their subtle tones very pleasing to my eye.
The background in this White-crowned Sparrow image consists of snow and frost covered grasses and I had some very out of focus snowy grasses between my lens and the twig the bird is perched on. I don’t think that detracts from this image and just adds to the snowy feeling.
This is 97% of the full frame of the original. The colder weather seems to have made birds including this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow a bit “sticky”, meaning they hang around longer than normal because of the cold so a closer approach than normal was possible. So I look forward to winter.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my White-crowned Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.