New World Sparrows are seed eating passerine birds with conical bills.
I was ready when this Green-tailed Towhee perched on a lichen topped fence post yesterday long enough for me to fire off 30 frames before he flew down to the ground.
One good bird can make the the day when photographing birds in the field, yesterday that bird was a male Green-tailed Towhee I spotted perched on a shrub in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains.
Lark Sparrows are only in Utah during their breeding season so whenever I have the opportunity to photograph them and their bold facial patterns I am thoroughly delighted.
I couldn't resist photographing this tiny Chipping Sparrow singing while perched on a "cedar" fence post with the sky and dark juniper behind it.
This beautiful little Lark Sparrow was so busy singing that it was a very cooperative subject and I took quite a few images of it as it sang and changed positions on the gnarly old fence post.
The day I photographed this Lark Sparrow with an ant on the boulder right next to it the light wasn't the best for bird photography but when I reviewed the images and saw the ant I knew I had to keep this photo.
I was so happy to photograph this mixture of spring birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge that I had a hard time picking out which birds and which photos to share.
I was trying to photograph some Red-tailed Hawks when I heard a song close to me and realized it was a Song Sparrow before I even located the bird and put my lens on it.
On my last two trips up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I have heard Savannah Sparrows singing "sit sit sit sit suh-EEEEE say" from somewhere in the marshes.
Is it any wonder I feel like the juvenile White-crowned Sparrow in this photo that is hiding its head? My inbox is getting junked up and my delete key is smoking from deleting the Cyber Monday sales pitches.
On the last day of 2015 I photographed this Song Sparrow without a tail on Antelope Island State Park during the early morning while frost still clung to branch the sparrow was perched on.
A few days ago I photographed this adult White-crowned Sparrow perched on a wild rose bush that is absolutely covered in red rose hips at Farmington Bay WMA.
Last winter I photographed adult and juvenile White-crowned Sparrows in the snow in low light conditions and was pleased with the resulting photos.
Yesterday I was able to photograph a few White-crowned Sparrow adults feeding on seeds of rabbitbrush and greasewood on Antelope Island State Park.
Five evenings ago I was able to photograph a cooperative Vesper Sparrow in Montana's Centennial Valley.
I photographed this little Chipping Sparrow yesterday evening at the Upper Lake campground at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
The harlequin faced Lark Sparrows are unique, easily identified and quite striking for sparrows which are known for being "little brown jobs".
I thought I would share a few Lark Sparrow facts, a sound recording and of course an image of a Lark Sparrow on the ground.
April in northern Utah is a good time to see and photograph molting immature White-crowned Sparrows.
This Sage Thrasher and Lark Sparrow on rabbitbrush are only two of the birds that benefit from the rabbitbrush on Antelope Island.
I ended up capturing an image of a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow photobombing the adult just a few frames later.
Yesterday I was able to photograph juvenile and adult White-crowned Sparrows on the same branch a few minutes apart at a gate at Farmington Bay WMA.
Getting close up images of wild birds is always a thrill for me and having this immature White-crowned Sparrow come in close enough for portrait was a pleasure on the last day of November.
I was happy yesterday to take this image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow perched with wild rose hips in the frame too.
My post today is an image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow molting into adult plumage and two images showing a juvenile and an adult for comparison.
I did get some images of the Song and White-crowned Sparrows on the wild rose and I like how this Song Sparrow had its back to me but gave me a nice head turn over its shoulder.
I don't often have the opportunity to photograph young Lark Sparrows so I jumped at the chance last Saturday when I saw this one on Antelope Island State Park.
I might need to go wandering up the canyons and Sky Line Drive soon just to see what birds and creatures I can find.
Lark Sparrows are the easiest sparrows to identify that inhabit Antelope Island State Park with their bold facial patterns and white edged tails.
Yesterday was bright and sunny in the Centennial Valley and after hearing this White-crowned Sparrow singing I felt like breaking out in song too.