As I write this the first snow of winter is falling outside my living room window. For the past week I have seen the snow on the mountain tops and I had been looking forward to seeing the snow covering the Salt Lake Valley.
Although White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) are year round residents in Utah I see far more of them in the fall, winter and early spring and because it is cold they also are "stickier" and allow closer approaches.
Normally I wouldn't take or present an image where the subject is as small in the frame as this juvenile White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is but I couldn't resist because I like this image a lot.
Yesterday while I was out photographing on Antelope Island State Park I came across a small flock of White-crowned Sparrows right next to the road.
White-crowned Sparrows can be seen foraging in the grasses, rabbitbrush and sagebrush that grow along the edge of the road.
Photographing birds during Autumn is a wonderful time for me in Utah, the beautiful fall colors delight and enthrall me, the air gets nippy and I find myself feeling a surge of energy whenever I am outdoors.
White-crowned Sparrows are one of the many birds that I see often during the cold winters of northern Utah.