New World Sparrows & Allies

New World Sparrows are seed eating passerine birds with conical bills.

Female Brown-headed Cowbird In A Serviceberry

By |June 17th, 2020|Categories: Beaverhead County, Birds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Centennial Valley, Montana, Morgan County, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Savannah Sparrows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Three days ago one of the birds that the Song Sparrows chased off was an adult female Brown-headed Cowbird that landed on a serviceberry in front of me.

MacGillivray’s Warblers In The Wasatch Mountains

By |June 7th, 2020|Categories: Birds, MacGillivray's Warblers, Morgan County, Song Sparrows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Despite the difficulties I have finding and photographing MacGillivray's Warblers I will keep trying to take better images of them.

Well Hello There Green-tailed Towhee – I’ve Been Expecting You

By |May 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I heard the male Green-tailed Towhee before I could see him perched on the weathered post with lichens on the top so a view of him was no surprise for me.

Song Sparrow On A Cloudy Spring Morning

By |May 29th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Song Sparrows, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Song Sparrow didn't let the gray clouds overhead, the moisture in the air or its damp feathers stop it from singing to all the other birds within earshot. I have to admire that.

Green-tailed Towhees Are Migrating Into Utah

By |May 3rd, 2020|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One year ago today I "whooped" out loud when I spotted my first of the year Green-tailed Towhee singing as he perched in top of a sagebrush.

Nesting Mountain Bluebirds And Other Woodland Birds

By |April 30th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Chipping Sparrows, House Wrens, Mountain Bluebirds, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Yesterday I had a blast photographing a pair of Mountain Bluebirds at a natural nesting cavity at the edge of a forest along with some other woodland birds. 

Vesper Sparrows In Spring

By |April 28th, 2020|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Earlier this month I spotted my first of year Vesper Sparrow way up north in Box Elder County and since then I have been looking for them closer to home in the Wasatch Mountains.

Song Sparrow Singing On The Marsh At Bear River MBR

By |March 7th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Song Sparrows, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had nice morning light and angled my Jeep so the distant, snowy Promontory Mountains were in the background when I photographed this Song Sparrow singing.

Portrait Of An Adult White-crowned Sparrow Eating Greasewood Seeds

By |December 13th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I look at this White-crowned Sparrow portrait I can count the orbital feathers of the bottom portion of the bird's eye and the rictal bristles near the bill.

Wild Roses Provide Cover for Sparrows, Finches And Juncos

By |November 21st, 2019|Categories: American Goldfinches, Birds, Box Elder County, Dark-eyed Juncos, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Small birds like these White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches need cover that provides safety for them from predators.

Male Dark-eyed Junco Close Up At Farmington Bay WMA

By |October 29th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As common as Dark-eyed Juncos are I have surprisingly few photos of them in my galleries and that is why I get excited when I can add a new photo of them to my portfolio.

White-crowned Sparrow Adult Perched In A Hackberry Tree

By |October 23rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed this adult White-crowned Sparrow about two weeks ago in northern Utah while it perched on a hackberry tree on a hill with blooming rabbitbrush in the background.

Savannah Sparrow On Some Rocks At Farmington Bay WMA

By |October 17th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Savannah Sparrows, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Usually when I see and photograph Savannah Sparrows they are on barbed wire, fence posts, railings or on the ground so seeing a Savannah on rocks was a nice change for me.

West Desert Wandering – Birds, Bees, And Blooms

By |October 5th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Even though I came home with very few photos I'm still glad I went wandering. I had great views, sunshine, birds to delight my eyes and ears and I soaked it all up like a thirsty sponge.

Photographing White-crowned Sparrows At Farmington Bay

By |September 30th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When autumn arrives White-crowned Sparrows are one of the sparrow species that I look forward to photographing at Farmington Bay WMA each year as they move down to lower elevations.

Adult White-crowned Sparrow In Rabbitbrush – Small in The Frame

By |September 4th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sometimes the colors of in a photo I have taken are what pleases me and draws me in even if my subject is small in the frame, in this case my subject was an adult White-crowned Sparrow.

Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco High In The Uinta Mountains

By |August 18th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Dark-eyed Juncos, High Uintas, Mirror Lake Highway, Summit County, Uinta National Forest, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was in the high Uinta Mountains near Washington Lake when I spotted this young Dark-eyed Junco and I was able to take a few images of it before it flew away.

Juvenile Song Sparrow Perched In A Thicket

By |July 28th, 2019|Categories: Morgan County, Song Sparrows, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The light wasn't great when I took this image of a juvenile Song Sparrow perched in a thicket last year but these little ones don't seem to spend a lot of time in the open right after they fledge so I was happy with the photo.

Adult Green-tailed Towhee Perched In A Golden Currant Bush

By |June 14th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Shrubs, Utah, Wasatch Mountains, Wildflowers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I truly wish that I had been able to photograph this adult Green-tailed Towhee in this Golden Currant bush while is was in full bloom because that would have been gorgeous with all the tiny yellow flowers.

Green-tailed Towhee Close Up

By |June 6th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Looking beyond the viewfinder paid off for me because if I hadn't done just that I would have missed seeing and photographing this Green-tailed Towhee.

One Brief Glimpse Into The World Of A Green-tailed Towhee

By |May 30th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While I know that for some people this Green-tailed Towhee image might be a "little out there" for their tastes and personal preferences I don't photograph birds for them, I photograph birds for me.

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