I haven’t seen as many sparrows this winter as I typically do, so I was tickled to take a few White-crowned Sparrow portraits at Farmington Bay WMA on Friday.
Winter White-crowned Sparrow adult portrait – Nikon D500, f10, 1/800, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This adult White-crowned Sparrow was very cooperative and allowed me to take several close up portraits of them. The sparrow was perched in a Greasewood with a bright blue winter sky behind the bird.
I usually find two subspecies of White-crowned Sparrows in northern Utah: Interior West and Gambel’s, which are also known as Western Taiga. This sparrow appears to be from the Gambel’s subspecies, which is the more abundant subspecies here than the Interior West subspecies.
Note: As I write this morning, I am wondering if the American Ornithological Society will be changing the names of subspecies that are named after people. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. It wouldn’t bother me a bit to call this subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow Western Taiga instead of Gambel’s.
I usually find more White-crowned Sparrows in the valley than I have seen since fall arrived. I’m not sure why I haven’t found them in larger numbers this winter. These sparrows nest in the mountains of northern Utah, and a few times I have found their young in the high country during the breeding season.
Before winter is officially over, I hope to have more White-crowned Sparrows in my viewfinder and hope to find American Tree and Lincoln’s Sparrows too.
I did see and photograph one Lincoln’s Sparrow on Friday, but that sparrow stayed well hidden in the base of the Greasewood. Even though I waited and hoped the Lincoln’s would come out into the open, it didn’t. The noisy diesel truck that pulled up behind me probably didn’t help because when it arrived, the Lincoln’s Sparrow flew off.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my White-crowned Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.
Wow! What a portrait! The color and detail you captured is simply incredible. Thanks Mia.
We used to have a huge flock of white-crowns back when we had chickens. Now, we have a lot fewer and more gold-crowns during the winter. The white-crowns and the songs have started singing. When the gold-crowns start, I know it’s really spring and they’re about to migrate away. LBJs are great.
Great photos as usual.
Nice comparison. Most people don’t even notice the difference between the sparrows. Thanks.