{"id":79386,"date":"2021-02-16T05:53:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T12:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=79386"},"modified":"2025-10-21T19:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T00:05:08","slug":"immature-white-crowned-sparrows-on-a-dreary-winter-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/02\/16\/immature-white-crowned-sparrows-on-a-dreary-winter-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature White-crowned Sparrows On A Dreary Winter Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImmatureImmature White-crowned Sparrows on a dreary winter day \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 1000, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days ago there were plenty of White-crowned Sparrows in the same area where I photographed two Spotted Towhees<\/span><\/a>. The mixture of immature and adult White-crowned Sparrows caused some tiffs when the adults showed their dominance over the younger birds. There were times when the younger sparrows would seek the shelter of nearby shrubs and trees to wait for their turn to feed.<\/p>\n

Even though the morning and the light was dreary I wanted to focus on these young sparrows. White-crowned Sparrows are year round residents in northern Utah. During the heat of summer I only see them at higher elevations which is where they breed and nest.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature White-crowned Sparrow on a snowy day \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 1000, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a thrill to listen to several of the adult White-crowned Sparrows sing<\/span><\/a> off and on. I often hear this sparrow species sing during the winter although not as frequently as I do during the spring and summer.<\/p>\n

I wanted to include a photo of this immature White-crowned Sparrow because I noticed that it has begun to molt some of its crown feathers. The crown of this young sparrow shows some black feathers mixed in with the brown stripe which is something I don’t usually see until around March or April. Click here<\/span><\/a> to read a post I wrote about molting immature White-crowned Sparrows.<\/p>\n

It snowed some over overnight and when I look out my window into the darkness this morning I can see that it is snowing still. I plan on heading out into the cold not long after dawn to see what birds I can find close to home. I love photographing birds when snow is falling!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Two days ago there were plenty of White-crowned Sparrows in the same area where I photographed two Spotted Towhees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":161231,"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":[27,709,26,356],"tags":[11018,4067,13400,4071,156,2312,2313,4104,4050,4328,855,4195,4427,8018,4327,373,4193,4256],"class_list":["post-79386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","category-white-crowned-sparrows","tag-dreary","tag-immature","tag-jordan-river-trail","tag-juvenile","tag-low-light-2","tag-molt","tag-molting","tag-perched","tag-snow","tag-snowy","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-tree","tag-urban","tag-white-crowned-sparrow","tag-winter","tag-young","tag-zonotrichia-leucophrys"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-winter-low-light-tree-mia-mcpherson-2965.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-kEq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":174188,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/04\/06\/immature-white-crowned-sparrow-molting-in-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":79386,"position":0},"title":"Immature White-crowned Sparrow Molting In Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I had this immature White-crowned Sparrow in my viewfinder at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge long enough to realize she or he was molting.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature White-crowned Sparrow molting in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/white-crowned-sparrow-immature-molting-mia-mcpherson-3010.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/white-crowned-sparrow-immature-molting-mia-mcpherson-3010.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/white-crowned-sparrow-immature-molting-mia-mcpherson-3010.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/white-crowned-sparrow-immature-molting-mia-mcpherson-3010.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38227,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/13\/molting-immature-white-crowned-sparrows\/","url_meta":{"origin":79386,"position":1},"title":"Molting Immature White-crowned Sparrows","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"April in northern Utah is a good time to see and photograph molting immature White-crowned Sparrows.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-hackberry-rabbitbrush-mia-mcpherson-4955.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166826,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/14\/immature-white-crowned-sparrow-in-a-bottomland-hardwood-forest\/","url_meta":{"origin":79386,"position":3},"title":"Immature White-crowned Sparrow In A Bottomland Hardwood Forest","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Late last week, while driving through a forested area of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, I was delighted to photograph an immature White-crowned Sparrow.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature White-crowned Sparrow at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/white-crowned-sparrow-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4424.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-crowned-sparrow-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4424.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pair of immature White-crowned Sparrows on a dead branch, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrows-immature-dead-branch-mia-mcpherson-2782.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrows-immature-dead-branch-mia-mcpherson-2782.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrows-immature-dead-branch-mia-mcpherson-2782.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrows-immature-dead-branch-mia-mcpherson-2782.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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