{"id":138663,"date":"2025-01-10T02:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T08:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=138663"},"modified":"2025-01-09T18:45:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T00:45:02","slug":"first-winter-harriss-sparrow-in-an-arkansas-snowstorm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/10\/first-winter-harriss-sparrow-in-an-arkansas-snowstorm\/","title":{"rendered":"First Winter Harris’s Sparrow In An Arkansas Snowstorm"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was over the moon when I saw and photographed a first-winter Harris’s Sparrow in a snowstorm yesterday. I\u2019ve waited years and years to take these photos.<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst winter Harris’s Sparrow in a snowstorm \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 371mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The first time I took photos of a Harris’s Sparrow was in March 2018 in northern Utah. I found a first winter Harris’s Sparrow lifer<\/span><\/a>, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I was only able to take poor quality documentary photos of that bird. Before that, I had been looking for this species since 2009.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Harris’s Sparrow in snow in Arkansas \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The photos I took yesterday of this immature Harris’s Sparrow more than made up for the first cruddy images I took of one in Utah\u2014by a long shot.<\/p>\n

I was thrilled to see this sparrow among all the other birds at the feeders in the falling snow.<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst Winter Harris’s Sparrow on a snowy day \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1\/400, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The sparrow stood out against the snow-white background, and for a while, I only had eyes for them. This Harris’s Sparrow moved between the feeders and foraged on the ground.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Harris’s Sparrow foraging for seeds on snow \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was surprised by how much larger this Harris’s Sparrow appeared compared to the nearby White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, who are also Zonotrichia sparrows.<\/p>\n

Oh, yes, the snowstorm brought in the White-crowned Sparrows, too. More on them later.<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst winter Harris’s Sparrow in snow \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I kept my eyes on this beautiful young Harris’s Sparrow and took more than a hundred photos as it moved around in the falling snow. She or he was hard to miss\u2014they are a striking sparrow species.<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst winter Harris’s Sparrow above a seed feeder \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 1000, +2.0 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It is supposed to snow until around 8 am today. I hope that I’ll be outside with this Harris’s Sparrow<\/span><\/a> in my viewfinder again not long after sunrise. Maybe a Fox Sparrow, another nemesis of mine, will also show up. That would be marvelous!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see my Harris’s Sparrow photo gallery plus facts and information about this species. As soon as I take more photos of this species, I will add them to the gallery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was over the moon when I saw and photographed a first-winter Harris’s Sparrow in a snowstorm yesterday. I\u2019ve waited years and years to take these photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138641,"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":[13950,6416,13951],"tags":[13981,2450,4136,13931,6418,4067,156,4104,4050,4899,4328,855,4195,15824,373,13966,4193,6419],"class_list":["post-138663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-harriss-sparrow","category-sebastian-county","tag-feeder","tag-first-winter","tag-foraging","tag-garden","tag-harriss-sparrow","tag-immature","tag-low-light-2","tag-perched","tag-snow","tag-snowstorm","tag-snowy","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-suburban","tag-winter","tag-yard","tag-young","tag-zonotrichia-querula"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/harriss-sparrow-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-6181.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-A4v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138723,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/13\/three-zonotrichia-sparrows-in-arkansas-winters\/","url_meta":{"origin":138663,"position":0},"title":"Three Zonotrichia Sparrows in Arkansas Winters","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I had a trifecta of Zonotrichia sparrows in my viewfinder. These are photos of the three Zonotrichia sparrows that visit Arkansas during the winter.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy adult White-throated Sparrow, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51313,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/20\/hovering-northern-harrier-plus-my-lifer-harriss-sparrow\/","url_meta":{"origin":138663,"position":1},"title":"Hovering Northern Harrier Plus My Lifer Harris’s Sparrow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In some shrubs next to Glover Pond I saw two sparrows and the one that quickly drew my eye was a lovely first winter Harris's Sparrow, jackpot, a lifer!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Harrier hovering over a grassy field, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-8488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-8488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-8488.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-8488.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135729,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/16\/fall-brings-white-crowned-and-white-throated-sparrows-to-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":138663,"position":2},"title":"Fall Brings White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows to Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Fall will bring White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows back to Arkansas for their non-breeding season. I\u2019m super excited about their impending arrival.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-throated Sparrow with an eye on me, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/white-throated-sparrow-arkansas-adult-mia-mcpherson-9388.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/white-throated-sparrow-arkansas-adult-mia-mcpherson-9388.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/white-throated-sparrow-arkansas-adult-mia-mcpherson-9388.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/white-throated-sparrow-arkansas-adult-mia-mcpherson-9388.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142904,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/15\/spring-white-throated-sparrow-in-arkansas-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":138663,"position":3},"title":"Spring White-throated Sparrow In Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It won\u2019t be long before I see my last White-throated Sparrow. They\u2019ll be migrating to their breeding grounds very soon, and I won\u2019t see them again until fall.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring White-throated Sparrow, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/white-throated-sparrow-spring-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6197.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/white-throated-sparrow-spring-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6197.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/white-throated-sparrow-spring-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6197.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/white-throated-sparrow-spring-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6197.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17800,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/12\/15\/a-quartet-of-sparrow-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":138663,"position":4},"title":"Quartet of Sparrow Species","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Lately I've been able to photograph 4 different sparrow species between Antelope Island State Park and Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.","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":"Lincoln's Sparrow on a fence rail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/lincolns-sparrow-perched-mia-mcpherson-2042.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/lincolns-sparrow-perched-mia-mcpherson-2042.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/lincolns-sparrow-perched-mia-mcpherson-2042.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/lincolns-sparrow-perched-mia-mcpherson-2042.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":167698,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/29\/low-light-white-throated-sparrow-in-a-snow-drift\/","url_meta":{"origin":138663,"position":5},"title":"Low Light White-throated Sparrow In A Snow Drift","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This White-throated Sparrow barely shows themself, tucked behind a soft ridge of snow like they knew exactly how to work the scene.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White-throated Sparrow in a snow drift, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-ok-mia-mcpherson-4954.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-ok-mia-mcpherson-4954.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-ok-mia-mcpherson-4954.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-ok-mia-mcpherson-4954.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}