Summer singing Vesper Sparrow adult – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Today my post is focused on a little brown bird with a wonderful song I photographed yesterday in the Wasatch Mountains. The LBB was a handsome Vesper Sparrow. I’m jumping ahead of the story but there were two Vesper Sparrows.
Vesper Sparrow adult perched on a wooden post in summer – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
As it happens many times, I heard this songster before I saw it. After hearing the song I started to look for the source and found the sparrow perched on an old wooden post. Then there were two Vesper Sparrows at the post when a second one landed below the first. They both took off chasing each other over the grass and sagebrush covered slope.
Adult Vesper Sparrow looking at me – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I’m not sure if this was the first Vesper Sparrow I photographed yesterday or if the first one was usurped from this post by the second one I saw. It really doesn’t matter. I was just happy that I had a Vesper Sparrow in my viewfinder.
Adult Vesper Sparrow in a mountain canyon – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I wish that more people would learn to know and appreciate all the sparrow species we have in North America. They truly are fascinating birds. They can be challenging to identify and when they are young even more so. I like the challenge.
Singing adult Vesper Sparrow in the Wasatch Mountains – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The rufous lesser coverts and the songs of Vesper Sparrows make this an easy sparrow for me to identify.
Vesper Sparrow after a quick preening session – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2500, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This Vesper Sparrow preened for a bit but unfortunately for me when it did I couldn’t see the eye or didn’t get a catch light in its eye while the sparrow preened.
Vesper Sparrow fluffing its feathers – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I had great light in the sparrow’s eye when it fluffed its feathers after preening. Even though the bird’s feathers are all fluffed up I can still see those rufous lesser coverts in this photo. One white outer tail feather, another id feature, shows well in this image too.
Fluffy singing adult Vesper Sparrow – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The Vesper Sparrow hadn’t even settled its feathers completely when it started to sing again. It was almost as if the sparrow couldn’t help but sing.
I felt happy to observe and photograph this sparrow and its song relaxed me. If I hadn’t been driving slow and paying attention to both the sounds I was hearing and the sights I was seeing I may have missed this sparrow altogether.
Vesper Sparrow scratching an itch – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2500, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This photo made me laugh out loud when I saw it on my monitor at home because it was such a funny pose. I’m sure the sparrow thought it was a necessary pose to scratch the itch it was feeling. The pose simply tickled my funny bone.
Adult Vesper Sparrow singing in the mountains – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2500, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Not long after this image was taken the Vesper Sparrow flew off and landed way out in the distance on top of a sagebrush. I waited for a bit hoping it would fly back to the wooden post. When it didn’t I turned on my Jeep and headed up the road to see what else I could find to focus on.
Life is good. It is better by far with sparrows on this planet.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Vesper Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.
Very interesting series of Sparrow pics. The eye contact is wonderful. Thanks Mia.
MIa,
Ruth and are are chasing birds in the high plains (ND, MT, WY) and we continue to work on identifying those sparrows. Gradually we are able to give them their proper names, but it is one of the harder parts of bird ID that we have dealt with in our 25 years of doing this on our trips. THanks for your photos, but I was hoping you might get a “tailshot”on the Vesper.
A lovely thing as the lbjs so often are. I would like a fraction of its flexibility too.
These are wonderful! I love the stretch pose and you can see new pin feathers all over the chin. I saw and photographed one yesterday but it was so far away on the top of a sage.
Great series of images. They certainly do have a hauntingly beautiful song.