{"id":73602,"date":"2020-09-08T06:10:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T12:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=73602"},"modified":"2025-10-21T18:50:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:50:59","slug":"im-just-mad-about-sparrows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/09\/08\/im-just-mad-about-sparrows\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Just Mad About Sparrows"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Brewer'sBrewer’s Sparrow perched on top of a Fragrant Sumac \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days ago I had a six sparrow morning in northern Utah but my photos of the Chipping Sparrows I saw were not up to par so I am only sharing five of those species this morning. I decided to share the photos in alphabetical order this morning instead of by a time sequence.<\/p>\n

First up, the Brewer’s Sparrows were the most numerous of the sparrows I photographed that morning.<\/p>\n

Brewer’s Sparrows are migratory and I’ve been seeing them on the move for at least the past week up in the Wasatch Mountains and now down in the valley.<\/p>\n

\"Brewer'sBrewer’s Sparrow on a sumac perch \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I had some nice opportunities with Brewer’s two mornings ago especially with this individual because it perched out in the open on top of a Fragrant Sumac with a lovely background.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Brewer’s Sparrow in smoky, diffused light \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Then it moved a little closer and lower which meant I had some of the sumac leaves that are just barely starting to change color in the frame. After the cold front that moved in last night I expect those sumac leaves will change color even more rapidly now.<\/p>\n

\"MessyMessy looking Brewer’s Sparrow \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I had another, much messier looking, Brewer’s Sparrow in my viewfinder. It looks likes this Brewer’s is still undergoing a seasonal molt. Or perhaps it stayed up too late.<\/p>\n

I loved the perch, the over the shoulder look and the great eye contact I had with this sparrow so the messy feathers don’t bother me at all.<\/p>\n

\"Lincoln'sLincoln’s Sparrow adult peeking out from a sumac \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Then I spotted a Lincoln’s Sparrow trying to sneak out onto a thick branch that has some water down below it. It didn’t move all the way out into the open but I photograph this shy species so infrequently that I took this photo “just because” I could.<\/p>\n

\"Lincoln'sLincoln’s Sparrow adult perched on a thick branch \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Ten minutes later a Lincoln’s Sparrow appeared out in the open on the same branch and I took a short series of images of it.<\/p>\n

Just the week before I’d seen a Lincoln’s Sparrow in the Wasatch Mountains but it was way out in the distance, across a creek and buried in some branches on the creek bank. Getting photos of this Lincoln’s Sparrow helped to soothe the frustration I felt with the one where I only had long distance views of it.<\/p>\n

\"SavannahSavannah Sparrow adult perched in wild rose \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

When this gorgeous Savannah Sparrow showed up on a nearby wild rose bush I could barely contain my joy at seeing it. I’d seen and heard quite a few Savannah Sparrows this year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge but wasn’t able to photograph them.\u00a0 Having this one in my viewfinder was a thrill.<\/p>\n

\"PerkyPerky Savannah Sparrow in a wild rose \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The wild rose, reddish rose hips and the leaves of the rose seem to make this Savannah Sparrow pop out on my screen at home.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Vesper Sparrow perched in a Fragrant Sumac \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I also saw several Vesper Sparrows high on the cliff face which were too far away for quality photos but this one individual showed up on top of a sumac and posed there for a bit. I noticed that the Vesper appeared to be eating the tiny sumac berries but I didn’t have a clear view of its face or eyes when I saw that action. Maybe I’ll get lucky before the Vespers leave and get a photo of one with a berry in its bill.<\/p>\n

\"CuriousCurious young White-crowned Sparrow \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, I saw a few adult and immature White-crowned Sparrows mixed in with the other sparrows in the area. I couldn’t get a clear shot of one of the adults I saw which was frustrating. The immature White-crowned Sparrows on the other hand popped into view and my viewfinder quite a few times.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature White-crowned Sparrow perched in a fork of branches \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, +0.7 EV, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

And I took photos of them whenever I had at least a partially clear view of them.<\/p>\n

I had a great time photographing all of the sparrow species I saw two days ago and I could have stayed with them all morning long. I might do just that later this week.<\/p>\n

I know some people think of sparrows as just little brown birds, I don’t. I am fascinated by them all. I guess you could say I’m mad about sparrows.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

P.S., sorry if my title gave you an earworm this morning. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my sparrow photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had a great time photographing all of the sparrow species I saw two days ago and I could have stayed with them all morning long. I might do just that later this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1148,2222,1695,831,26,2258,356],"tags":[4004,6577,2446,4098,6767,4067,4071,4434,2814,4194,2657,6768,4749,2513,229,4018,10404,855,4195,2223,7630,2658,4327,10409,4193,4256],"class_list":["post-73602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-brewers-sparrows","category-lincolns-sparrows","category-savannah-sparrows","category-utah","category-vesper-sparrows","category-white-crowned-sparrows","tag-adult","tag-branches","tag-brewers-sparrow","tag-desert","tag-fragrant-sumac","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-lincolns-sparrow","tag-melospiza-lincolnii","tag-passerculus-sandwichensis","tag-poocetes-gramineus","tag-rhus-aromatica","tag-rose-hips","tag-roses","tag-savannah-sparrow","tag-sky","tag-smoky","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-spizella-breweri","tag-sumac","tag-vesper-sparrow","tag-white-crowned-sparrow","tag-wild-roses","tag-young","tag-zonotrichia-leucophrys"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t