I was over the moon when I saw and photographed a first-winter Harris’s Sparrow in a snowstorm yesterday. I’ve waited years and years to take these photos.
First winter Harris’s Sparrow in a snowstorm – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 371mm, natural light
The first time I took photos of a Harris’s Sparrow was in March 2018 in northern Utah. I found a first winter Harris’s Sparrow lifer, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I was only able to take poor quality documentary photos of that bird. Before that, I had been looking for this species since 2009.
Immature Harris’s Sparrow in snow in Arkansas – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light
The photos I took yesterday of this immature Harris’s Sparrow more than made up for the first cruddy images I took of one in Utah—by a long shot.
I was thrilled to see this sparrow among all the other birds at the feeders in the falling snow.
First Winter Harris’s Sparrow on a snowy day – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/400, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light
The sparrow stood out against the snow-white background, and for a while, I only had eyes for them. This Harris’s Sparrow moved between the feeders and foraged on the ground.
Immature Harris’s Sparrow foraging for seeds on snow – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light
I was surprised by how much larger this Harris’s Sparrow appeared compared to the nearby White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, who are also Zonotrichia sparrows.
Oh, yes, the snowstorm brought in the White-crowned Sparrows, too. More on them later.
First winter Harris’s Sparrow in snow – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light
I kept my eyes on this beautiful young Harris’s Sparrow and took more than a hundred photos as it moved around in the falling snow. She or he was hard to miss—they are a striking sparrow species.
First winter Harris’s Sparrow above a seed feeder – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light
It is supposed to snow until around 8 am today. I hope that I’ll be outside with this Harris’s Sparrow in my viewfinder again not long after sunrise. Maybe a Fox Sparrow, another nemesis of mine, will also show up. That would be marvelous!
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see my Harris’s Sparrow photo gallery plus facts and information about this species. As soon as I take more photos of this species, I will add them to the gallery.
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