{"id":121839,"date":"2024-02-24T04:42:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T11:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=121839"},"modified":"2024-02-25T03:16:30","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T10:16:30","slug":"song-sparrow-serenade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/24\/song-sparrow-serenade\/","title":{"rendered":"Song Sparrow Serenade – Happy Birthday Chris!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was serenaded by this Song Sparrow yesterday on the rut-filled road at Farmington Bay WMA. It might seem odd, but this bird reminded me of my youngest son.<\/p>\n

Click the here<\/span><\/a> to be serenaded by a Song Sparrow as you read this.<\/p>\n

\"SongSong Sparrow starting to sing \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Huh? What?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today is my youngest son’s birthday. I thought about Chris yesterday while I was in the field because of this Song Sparrow who sang for me in the marsh.<\/p>\n

You see, even when Chris was really young, he loved to sing. He made up songs and sang them while he played; sometimes he even sang as he drifted off to sleep.<\/p>\n

\"PerkyPerky Song Sparrow on a winter day \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Singing was, and still is, a large part of Chris’s nature, just as much as it is part of a Song Sparrow’s nature. Their songs just flow out when the mood comes over them. I’ve been fortunate because I’ve heard their songs.<\/p>\n

As my son grew up, the songs he sang were songs I was familiar with. I could tell where Chris was in the house or yard because of his songs.<\/p>\n

\"SongSong Sparrow singing in a marsh \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris sings simply because he loves singing. Now, I don’t know if Song Sparrows love singing, but I do know that I thoroughly enjoy hearing their songs. I hear these sparrows year round, but their songs are the most robust in late winter and early spring.<\/p>\n

\"SideSide view of a singing Song Sparrow \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

So yes, I compared my son to a bird yesterday and thought about his birth, his childhood, and how he grew up. I’m very proud of him because he is a loving, caring person who loves to sing.<\/p>\n

Happy Birthday, Chris. I love you sweetheart.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

And it is a special date too – 02-24-2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I was serenaded by this Song Sparrow yesterday on the rut-filled road at Farmington Bay WMA. It might seem odd, but this bird reminded me of my youngest son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121827,"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":[27,1022,697,204,26],"tags":[4004,4094,4202,4378,4104,3819,4059,6428,5769,9978,4179,4023,855,4195,14758,4095,373],"class_list":["post-121839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-song-sparrows","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-marsh","tag-melospiza-melodia","tag-morning","tag-perched","tag-perky","tag-phragmites","tag-phrags","tag-side-view","tag-sing","tag-singing-2","tag-song-sparrow","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-starting","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/song-sparrow-singing-marsh-mia-mcpherson-9010.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-vH9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61555,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/05\/song-sparrows-in-the-marsh-of-farmington-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":121839,"position":0},"title":"Song Sparrows In The Marsh Of Farmington Bay","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I probably see Song Sparrows more often and in more habitats than any other sparrow species here in Utah.\u00a0 I am delighted by that.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alert adult Song Sparrow, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-1577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-1577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Song Sparrow working at getting some seeds, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-winter-mia-mcpherson-8790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-winter-mia-mcpherson-8790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-winter-mia-mcpherson-8790.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/song-sparrow-winter-mia-mcpherson-8790.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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