Puffed Up Song Sparrow On Natural And Man Made Perches

Puffy Song Sparrow on a frosted branch – Nikon D500, f10, 1/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I have a preference for photographing birds on natural perches because birds are wild and I like showing them in their natural habitats in my photos. Sometimes that means the setting is cluttered so I do my best to photograph the birds without too many items obstructing a clear view of my subject. Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph the same Song Sparrow in a natural setting and in a setting where there were man made objects.

This photo shows the Song Sparrow perched on a frosted branch in a bush near a road that had a tiny bit of the frost on its bill. I love the clear view of the sparrow but the background is a little cluttered for my tastes. The sparrow was all puffed up because of the cold, it was around 18°F when I took this image.

Puffed up Song Sparrow on a frosty fence rail – Nikon D500, f10, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Then the Song Sparrow moved from the bush to a frosty fence rail that had an out of focus section of the fence behind it in the nice morning light that only had a few out of focus branches and leaves on the right side of the frame. Of these two images I like this one the best because the bird stands out better at first glance than it does in the first image.

To me it almost looks like this Song Sparrow swallowed a ping pong ball it is so round from being puffed up.

These two Song Sparrow photos are a reminder to me that sometimes having man made objects in my photos isn’t such a bad thing, it is just a matter of personal tastes.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Song Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.