{"id":102157,"date":"2022-05-05T04:49:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T10:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=102157"},"modified":"2022-05-05T04:50:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T10:50:10","slug":"spring-song-sparrow-gathering-nesting-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/05\/spring-song-sparrow-gathering-nesting-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Song Sparrow Gathering Nesting Materials"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SongSong Sparrow looking for nesting materials \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Towards the end of April I spent a few minutes photographing an adult Song Sparrow looking for and gathering nesting materials high in the Wasatch Mountains. There appeared to be a few pairs of these sparrows nesting in the same area near a creek. I had observed a few scuffles between the Song Sparrows earlier in the morning when the light was awful because of fog and clouds.<\/p>\n

This adult poked around in the grasses for a few minutes looking for suitable nesting materials. Even though snow had fallen in the mountains overnight the sparrows I watched still felt the urge to get busy building their nests.<\/p>\n

\"SongSong Sparrow gathering nesting materials \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There might be an advantage for these Song Sparrows when they nest early. I didn’t see any Brown-headed Cowbirds in the area yet and they parasitize the nests of Song Sparrows frequently in the Wasatch Mountains. If the sparrows nest and incubate early enough maybe they can avoid rearing the young of the cowbirds. There is a risk of nesting too early in the high country because it can still get very cold up there and snow fell in the high country of the Wasatch Range<\/span><\/a> just yesterday morning.<\/p>\n

I love listening to Song Sparrows singing all year round but their songs<\/span><\/a> are even more exuberant during the spring nesting season.<\/p>\n

I am looking forward to photographing the Song Sparrows I find during this nesting season. Who knows, I might even photograph this sparrow’s young before too long.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Song Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Towards the end of April I spent a few minutes photographing an adult Song Sparrow looking for and gathering nesting materials high in the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,204],"tags":[4004,3940,5943,4202,4069,440,9626,4023,855,4195,165],"class_list":["post-102157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-song-sparrows","tag-adult","tag-canyon","tag-ground","tag-melospiza-melodia","tag-mountains","tag-nesting-materials","tag-riparian-habitat","tag-song-sparrow","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/song-sparrow-adult-ground-mia-mcpherson-8329.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-qzH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88689,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/22\/nesting-lark-sparrow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":102157,"position":0},"title":"Nesting Lark Sparrow Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the first birds I heard singing three days ago in the West Desert of Tooele County was a Lark Sparrow perched on top of a sagebrush.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lark Sparrow with nesting materials in its bill, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-spring-mia-mmcpherson-9979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-spring-mia-mmcpherson-9979.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chipping Sparrow with nesting materials, Uinta National Forest, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4745.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4745.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4745.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4745.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4107.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4107.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4107.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chipping-sparrow-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-4107.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101789,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/25\/song-sparrow-on-a-cold-spring-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":102157,"position":3},"title":"Song Sparrow On A Cold Spring Morning And My Fox Sparrow Disappointment","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing photos of a Song Sparrow I found yesterday morning high in the mountains where the temps were so low that frost had formed overnight.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fluffed up and cold Song Sparrow, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/song-sparrow-adult-chilly-mia-mpcherson-8656.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/song-sparrow-adult-chilly-mia-mpcherson-8656.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "American Tree Sparrows"","block_context":{"text":"American Tree Sparrows","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/emberzine-sparrows-allies\/american-tree-sparrows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-crowned Sparrow in a hackberry tree, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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