{"id":112969,"date":"2023-04-27T03:39:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T09:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=112969"},"modified":"2023-04-27T03:41:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T09:41:19","slug":"surprise-grasshopper-sparrow-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/27\/surprise-grasshopper-sparrow-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise Grasshopper Sparrow at Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a rough start to my week, I very much needed some time out in nature yesterday morning. Nature, in turn, gifted me with a surprise Grasshopper Sparrow.<\/p>\n

\"GrasshopperGrasshopper Sparrow at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was definitely surprised to find a Grasshopper Sparrow in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. That isn’t the kind of habitat where this sparrow species is typically found at all. They are usually found in prairie grasslands, old weedy fields, grain fields, hayfields, pastures, and in Florida, palmetto scrub.<\/p>\n

The Grasshopper Sparrows<\/span><\/a> I have seen in Utah have been on Antelope Island State Park. I have taken a few documentary images of this species on the island. Mostly, I just hear<\/span><\/a> them there. That area of the park only allows walking on the trails, so I haven’t been able to walk out to try to get better photos of this sparrow species there.<\/p>\n

\"GrasshopperGrasshopper Sparrow in the marsh at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

But it is spring migration time, and as I have told friends over the years, birds can show up in strange habitats during migration. It was strange to see this Grasshopper Sparrow right next to a wetland area.<\/p>\n

While I can’t say that this Grasshopper Sparrow was a lifer for me, I can say it is the first time I have gotten decent, close-up images of this species. I do wish that I could have had this colorful sparrow in my viewfinder a bit longer.<\/p>\n

After soaking in the views, relishing the birds, and relaxing at the refuge, this surprise Grasshopper Sparrow was a wonderful, unexpected gift. My mind, heart, and spirit needed that gift and the trip to the refuge more than even I knew.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see my new Grasshopper Sparrow photo gallery. I hope to add more photos of this species soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a rough start to my week, I very much needed some time out in nature yesterday morning. Nature, in turn, gifted me with a surprise Grasshopper Sparrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112956,"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":[124,27,1148,13856,26],"tags":[4004,13857,5833,4109,13855,4094,519,855,4195,165,4851,4095],"class_list":["post-112969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-grasshopper-sparrows","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-ammodramus-savannarum","tag-gift","tag-grasses","tag-grasshopper-sparrow","tag-marsh","tag-nature","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-spring","tag-surprise","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/grasshopper-sparrow-spring-mia-mcpherson-2048.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-to5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":107670,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/01\/surprise-swamp-sparrow-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":112969,"position":0},"title":"Surprise 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MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I had nice morning light and angled my Jeep so the distant, snowy Promontory Mountains were in the background when I photographed this Song Sparrow singing.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Song Sparrow singing on the marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-snowy-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-snowy-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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