{"id":53194,"date":"2018-07-22T04:48:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T10:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=53194"},"modified":"2023-03-07T08:27:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T15:27:48","slug":"singing-vesper-sparrow-in-a-wasatch-mountain-canyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/07\/22\/singing-vesper-sparrow-in-a-wasatch-mountain-canyon\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Vesper Sparrow in a Wasatch Mountain Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For several weeks I repeatedly saw and heard a Vesper Sparrow in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains and early in July I was able to take some decent images of it as it sang on a metal post.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-110875 size-full\" title=\"Vesper Sparrow singing in the Wasatch Mountains\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg\" alt=\"Vesper Sparrow singing in the Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208-800x571.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Vesper Sparrow singing in the Wasatch Mountains &#8211; Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d just finished photographing a male American Goldfinch feeding on Musk Thistles and had started to drive slowly up the canyon in my Jeep when I heard the song of the Vesper Sparrow where I had seen one of the sparrows on several previous trips into the canyon so I slowed down even more and started to look for it then I spotted the sparrow close to the edge of the road on an old metal post singing its little heart out. I hoped it wouldn&#8217;t fly off before I was able to stop, focus on it and take images of it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-110876 size-full\" title=\"Vesper Sparrow singing on a metal post\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223.jpg\" alt=\"Vesper Sparrow singing on a metal post, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223-800x571.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2223.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Vesper Sparrow singing on a metal post &#8211; Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The sparrow cooperated and I was able to take a nice series of images of it before a jogger went by and flushed the bird. It didn&#8217;t fly too far away so I sat there in my Jeep hoping it would come closer again, after a few minutes it appeared that the sparrow wasn&#8217;t going to come closer so I watched it sing on top of the bush it had flown too. I tried to take a video of the Vesper Sparrow singing but I didn&#8217;t have the camera locked onto a tripod so the video made me a bit dizzy. Okay, it made me more than a bit dizzy. I wish I had brought my tripod along that day but I&#8217;d left it at home.<\/p>\n<p>The past few times I have been up into that canyon the Vesper Sparrow has been absent or I just couldn&#8217;t see it. Perhaps it found a mate and they are raising little sparrows now, I&#8217;d like to think that they are.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/vesper-sparrow-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Vesper Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For several weeks I repeatedly saw and heard a Vesper Sparrow in a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains and early in July I was able to take some decent images of it as it sang on a metal post. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110875,"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":[27,1731,26,2258,773],"tags":[4004,3940,6613,4069,4104,2657,4179,855,4195,2315,2658],"class_list":["post-53194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-vesper-sparrows","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-canyon","tag-metal-post","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-poocetes-gramineus","tag-singing-2","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-summer-3","tag-vesper-sparrow"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-singing-canyon-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dPY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87559,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/13\/springtime-vesper-sparrow-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":53194,"position":0},"title":"Springtime Vesper Sparrow Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I heard my first Vesper Sparrow of spring singing high in the Wasatch Mountains. I was enchanted and thrilled at the same time.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Vesper Sparrow perched on a small rock, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-6697.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-6697.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-6697.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-on-rock-mia-mcpherson-6697.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90334,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/13\/vesper-sparrow-looking-up-at-the-sky\/","url_meta":{"origin":53194,"position":1},"title":"Vesper Sparrow Looking Up At The Sky","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday morning I found this Vesper Sparrow perched on an old fence post next to a dusty road with another sparrow singing from the top of a sage about 100 feet away.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vesper Sparrow looking at the sky, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-tilted-head-mia-mcpherson-5620.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-tilted-head-mia-mcpherson-5620.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-tilted-head-mia-mcpherson-5620.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-adult-tilted-head-mia-mcpherson-5620.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57665,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/07\/vesper-sparrow-up-close-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":53194,"position":2},"title":"Vesper Sparrow Up Close In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"To my surprise when the Vesper Sparrow lifted off it flew onto the top of another sagebrush that was even closer to me which was nearly perfect for taking portraits of the sparrow and I took full advantage of the opportunity.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vesper Sparrow close up, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-close-up-mia-mcpherson-2551.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103942,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/07\/summer-vesper-sparrow-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":53194,"position":3},"title":"Summer Vesper Sparrow Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Today my post is focused on a little brown bird with a wonderful song I photographed yesterday in the Wasatch Mountains. The LBB was a handsome Vesper Sparrow.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vesper Sparrow fluffing its feathers, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/vesper-sparrow-summer-mountains-mia-mcpherson-3187.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/vesper-sparrow-summer-mountains-mia-mcpherson-3187.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/vesper-sparrow-summer-mountains-mia-mcpherson-3187.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/vesper-sparrow-summer-mountains-mia-mcpherson-3187.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69134,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/28\/vesper-sparrows-in-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":53194,"position":4},"title":"Vesper Sparrows In Spring","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month I spotted my first of year Vesper Sparrow way up north in Box Elder County and since then I have been looking for them closer to home in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vesper Sparrow on a white rock, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-on-a-rock-mia-mcpherson-6949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-on-a-rock-mia-mcpherson-6949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-on-a-rock-mia-mcpherson-6949.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/vesper-sparrow-on-a-rock-mia-mcpherson-6949.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112096,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/06\/vesper-sparrow-outside-my-window\/","url_meta":{"origin":53194,"position":5},"title":"Vesper Sparrow Outside My Window","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I was quite surprised to find a Vesper Sparrow outside my window yesterday after the prolonged spring snowstorm finally left the Salt Lake Valley and Utah.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing Vesper Sparrow adult, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vesper-sparrow-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-3200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vesper-sparrow-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-3200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vesper-sparrow-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-3200.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53194","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=53194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}