Song Sparrows are medium sized brown sparrows with short, stout bills, long tails and have thick, dark streaks on their chests and flanks. Colors of the head and the amount of streaking in Song Sparrows varies extensively throughout North America.
I was glad to have so many immature Song Sparrows in my viewfinder that were out in the open on the ground and perched up higher.
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.
Just a few days ago I was listening to Song Sparrows singing on the East Coast and yesterday I was listening to them singing in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.
Just seconds after I took this photo I think the Song Sparrow decided it had had enough of the wind because it took off and left the bouncy serviceberry perch.
I was happy when the "sit and wait" approach allowed me to see this adult Song Sparrow pop up on top of a snow covered pile of vegetation where it proceeded to forage in front of me at a nice distance.
These two Song Sparrow photos are a reminder to me that sometimes having man made objects in my photos isn't such a bad thing, it is just a matter of personal tastes.
As I sat creekside in my Jeep an adult Song Sparrow flew in, landed and began hopping around looking for food for breakfast in the vegetation floating on the water at the edge of the creek.
In the past week I have photographed so many birds in a Wasatch Mountain canyon that I thought I would share a group of them in a photo gallery.
I can't pick a favorite between these two Song Sparrow photos because I find them both visually appealing and I don't feel a need or a desire to pick one over the other.
Yesterday morning I was able to photograph and adult Song Sparrow eating while perched at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early in the morning.
Birds aren't always neat looking, feathers wear, birds molt and young birds transitioning from their juvenal plumage into adult plumage can look quite disheveled or messy.
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 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.
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.
Lately I've been able to photograph 4 different sparrow species between Antelope Island State Park and Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.
So, is this the year that the Grinch stole winter?
While photographing Barn Owls last January I caught a small movement out of the corner of my eye and noticed a Song Sparrow foraging for seeds on the snow covered ground.
Yesterday the lowest temperature I saw at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area was -12F which reinforces the thought that "bird photography isn't for everyone" and that winters in Utah are hard on the birds.
A few days ago while photographing some Greater Yellowlegs and Wilson's Snipes at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area a couple of Song Sparrows also found their way into my viewfinder.
Song Sparrows are found throughout the U.S. and into Canada, some populations move south during the winter to southern states and northern Mexico. So far 30 subspecies of Song Sparrows have been described.
What I like about this image is the pose of the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), the warm tones of the background, the detail and colors
Sometimes life gets so busy that it takes me quite awhile to edit some of the images I take, this Song Sparrow photo is one of those.
I get very excited about small things at times, a colorful sunrise, the sight of a shooting star, the first spring crocus and in the fall; the first time I see frost.