{"id":93260,"date":"2021-08-14T05:37:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T11:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=93260"},"modified":"2024-08-26T05:15:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T10:15:28","slug":"song-sparrow-in-molt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/14\/song-sparrow-in-molt\/","title":{"rendered":"Song Sparrow In Molt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MoltingMolting and messy Song Sparrow adult \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days ago I photographed a molting Song Sparrow as it perched on an old wooden post high in a mountain canyon in beautiful morning light. I guess I could have passed on photographing and sharing this messy looking Song Sparrow but I didn’t and don’t want to. I photograph birds in all their life cycles and plumage phases and I appreciate being able to see and document them all. During the month of August I see quite of few of the songbirds I photograph going through molt<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do they look messy? Yes they can and do. They are still beautiful to my eyes.<\/p>\n

\"SongSong Sparrow in molting season \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This messy, molting Song Sparrow didn’t stay on the perch long but I was able to get views of both sides of the sparrow before it flew off.<\/p>\n

Sure, it is just a sparrow, a plain looking little brown bird, yet to me they are every bit as appealing and fascinating as a jewel-toned hummingbird or a stooping falcon even while they are in molt.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Two days ago I photographed a molting Song Sparrow as it perched on an old wooden post high in a mountain canyon in beautiful morning light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133192,"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":[27,204,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,3940,4202,2312,2313,12081,4069,4104,9626,4023,855,4195,2315,8917],"class_list":["post-93260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-song-sparrows","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-canyon","tag-melospiza-melodia","tag-molt","tag-molting","tag-molting-season","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-riparian-habitat","tag-song-sparrow","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-summer-3","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/song-sparrow-adult-molting-mia-mcpherson-4420.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ogc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":72661,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/08\/13\/messy-molting-song-sparrow\/","url_meta":{"origin":93260,"position":0},"title":"Messy, Molting Song Sparrow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This Song Sparrow will replace its damaged feathers quickly and will look like it normally does once again. Until then, I still think it is a beautiful, albeit somewhat ruffled, bird.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Song Sparrow in molt, Wasatch Mountains, East Canyon, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/song-sparrow-messy-on-ground-mia-mcpherson-0851.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/song-sparrow-messy-on-ground-mia-mcpherson-0851.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/song-sparrow-messy-on-ground-mia-mcpherson-0851.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-adult-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-adult-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-adult-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/song-sparrow-adult-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-6020.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":93260,"position":2},"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 Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Molting immature White-crowned Sparrow side view, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molt-side-view-mia-mcpherson-4488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molt-side-view-mia-mcpherson-4488.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":"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 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McPherson","date":"November 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My post today is an image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow molting into adult plumage and two images showing a juvenile and an adult for comparison.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature White-crowned Sparrow molting to adult plumage, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molting-mia-mcpherson-5660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molting-mia-mcpherson-5660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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