Spotted Towhee – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Raggedy Male Spotted Towhee

By Mia McPherson|August 5th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Spotted Towhees, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, branch, canyon, male, mountains, perched, Pipilo maculatus, raggedy, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, summer, towhee, towhees|

This raggedy male Spotted Towhee photo, taken in Morgan County, Utah, two years ago, made me smile when I came across it in my file archives a few days ago.

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Male Spotted Towhee – Urban Birds

By Mia McPherson|October 10th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Jordan River Parkway Trail, Salt Lake County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, branches, Crataegus rivularis, fall, hawthorn, hawthorns, male, Pipilo maculatus, sky, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees, tree, urban, urban birds|

Today I'm sharing a photo of a male Spotted Towhee that I captured yesterday while walking along the Jordan River in Salt Lake County early in the morning.

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Juvenile Green-tailed and Spotted Towhee Side By Side

By Mia McPherson|July 10th, 2022|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Morgan County, Salt Lake County, Spotted Towhees, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, canyon, chick, comparison, fence post, fledgling, Green-tailed Towhee, immature, Jordan River, juvenile, lichens, low light, male, mountains, perched, Pipilo chlorurus, Pipilo maculatus, riparian habitat, river, snow, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, spring, summer, towhee, towhees, urban, willows, winter, wooden post, young|

Until two days ago I had never gotten photos of a juvenile Green-tailed and young Spotted Towhee in the same frame so I was thrilled when I saw them fly in.

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Male Spotted Towhee In Morgan County

By Mia McPherson|May 7th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Morgan County, Spotted Towhees, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: adult, branches, canyon, catkins, forest, male, mountains, perched, Pipilo maculatus, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, spring, towhee, towhees, willow|

I had a few moments to photograph a singing male Spotted Towhee two days ago in Morgan County high in the Wasatch Mountains.

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World Sparrow Day 2022

By Mia McPherson|March 20th, 2022|Categories: American Tree Sparrows, Antelope Island State Park, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Brewer's Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Daggett County, Dark-eyed Juncos, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Green-tailed Towhees, Harris's Sparrow, House Sparrows, Lark Buntings, Lark Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Morgan County, Sagebrush Sparrows, Salt Lake County, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Stansbury Mountains, Summit County, Tooele County, Utah, Vesper Sparrows, Wasatch Mountains, White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows|Tags: adult, American Tree Sparrow, Artemisiospiza nevadensis, Brewer's Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Chondestes grammacus, Dark-eyed Junco, Green-tailed Towhee, House Sparrow, Junco hyemalis, Lark Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, Melospiza melodia, Passer domesticus, Passerculus sandwichensis, Pipilo chlorurus, Pipilo maculatus, Poocetes gramineus, Sagebrush Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, sparrow, sparrows, Spizella breweri, Spizella passerina, Spizelloides arborea, Spotted Towhee, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, World Sparrow Day, Zonotrichia albicollis, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

Today is World Sparrow Day and since I love all of the sparrows on the planet I thought I'd share some of the sparrows I have photographed in North America.

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Bird Identification From A Partial View

By Mia McPherson|July 30th, 2021|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Green-tailed Towhees, Spotted Towhees, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: bird ID, canyon, Green-tailed Towhee, identification, immature, juvenile, mountains, partial view, Pipilo chlorurus, Pipilo maculatus, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, summer, towhee, towhees, young|

There are times I take cruddy photos on purpose when I know that my view of the entire bird is obstructed and that I might only have a partial view of the bird.

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Male Spotted Towhee In Low Light

By Mia McPherson|February 24th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Salt Lake County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, branches, low light, male, perched, Pipilo maculatus, river edge, snow, snowy, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees, tree, urban, winter|

Ten days ago when I took this male Spotted Towhee image close to home I had tough, low light conditions to photograph him in.

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Snowy Spotted Towhee Portrait

By Mia McPherson|February 15th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, close up, male, Pipilo maculatus, portrait, snow, snowy, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees, urban, winter|

There was about 2 1/2 inches of white stuff on the ground yesterday morning which allowed me to take this snowy Spotted Towhee portrait close to home.

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Male Spotted Towhees – One Immature And One Adult

By Mia McPherson|September 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, adult plumage, colorful, desert, Fragrant Sumac, hatch year, immature, male, molt, molting, Pipilo maculatus, raggedy, ranchlands, Rhus aromatica, seep, smoke, smoky, sparrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, sumac, summer, towhee, towhees, young|

Spotted Towhees are among the most colorful members of the sparrow family and I always enjoy photographing them on those occasions when they are out in the open.

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Autumn Male Spotted Towhee

By Mia McPherson|November 6th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Box Elder County, Spotted Towhees, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, dappled, desert, fall, feeding, Fragrant Sumac, light, male, perched, Pipilo maculatus, ranchlands, Rhus aromatica, shouting match, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, stupid, towhee, towhees, vanity plate|

I photographed some sparrows, goldfinches, juncos, and this lovely male Spotted Towhee that was eating the fruit of a Fragrant Sumac tree.

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Molting Juvenile Spotted Towhee

By Mia McPherson|September 14th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Little Dutch Hollow, Morgan County, Spotted Towhees, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: canyon, immature, juvenile, molt, molting, mountains, Pipilo maculatus, prrow, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees|

This time of the year male and female Spotted Towhees have finished raising their broods and their young are learning how to be on their own but they do look a touch ragged as they molt into their adult plumage.

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Towhees, Warblers, Kinglets, Gnatcatchers – Oh My!

By Mia McPherson|September 26th, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Common Yellowthroats, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Spotted Towhees, Utah, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: Audubon's warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, cattail, cattails, Common Yellowthroat, Corthylio calendula, Geothlypis trichas, gnatcatchers, Greasewood, kinglets, Moth Mullein, Pipilo maculatus, Polioptila caerulea, rabbitbrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Setophaga coronata, sparrows, Spotted Towhee, sunflowers, towhees, warblers, wildflowers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, yellowthroats|

It has been a long time since I have had such a birdy day and the towhees, warblers, kinglets, gnatcatchers and the rest of the birds that I saw thrilled me all morning long.

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West Desert Medley of Birds

By Mia McPherson|April 22nd, 2015|Categories: Birds, Cassin's Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Horned Larks, Red-tailed Hawks, Say's Phoebes, Spotted Towhees, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: bird photography, birds, Buteo jamaicensis, Cassin's Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Eremophila alpestris, finch, finches, Haemorhous cassinii, hawk, hawks, Horned Lark, lark, larks, phobes, phoebe, Pipilo maculatus, Red-tailed Hawk, Say's Phoebe, Sayornis saya, sparows, sparrow, Spizella passerina, Spotted Towhee, towhee, towhees|

Yesterday was a delight in the West Desert because there were plentiful birds to photograph including this male Spotted Towhee singing on its territory.

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