Adult White-crowned Sparrow feeding on seeds – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I don’t see many White-crowned Sparrows during the summer in Utah so when the cooler weather of Autumn arrives in the Salt Lake Valley I look forward to seeing, hearing and photographing these sparrows when they make their way into the valley.
White-crowned Sparrow eating Rabbitbrush seeds – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1600, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Yesterday I was able to photograph a few White-crowned Sparrow adults feeding on seeds of rabbitbrush and greasewood on Antelope Island State Park. The sparrows that weren’t feeding seemed to stay hidden but the few that were feeding perched up higher and allowed great looks and opportunities to aim my lens at them.
Feeding White-crowned Sparrow in a breeze – Nikon D500, f8, 1/1600, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Some of the rabbitbrush in full bloom right now and some has already gone to seed and the sparrows were more evident on the bushes that had gone to seed. It was getting a bit on the breezy side by the time I photographed this adult and I liked how the breeze made its crown look like a raised crest and fluffed up the feathers on its right flank.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my White-crowned Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.
I do love the subtle beauty of so many of the lbj’s. Thank you.
We tend to see them mostly in the winter, too, and I ‘m always happy to see them. They seem to show up about the same time as the White-throated sparrows. They’re attracted to the seed-spill under our feeders, seed broadcast on the ground and seed heads from the wildflowers in our streetside garden (“weeds” according to our town’s SOB Code Enforcement Officer), esp. the Chickory and Black-eyed Susans…
Beautiful photos, Mia.
Beautiful photos. I think the White-Crowned Sparrow is the most handsome of all the sparrows. Just something about the crisp black & white stripes.
Beautiful!