NATURE CLICKS #602 - WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

White-crowned Sparrow, Ophir Beach, Oregon, Apr 11, 2025

White-crowned Sparrows are not seen very often here in the Little Maquoketa Valley in eastern Iowa. They spend the winter in the states south of here and have their breeding grounds high up in Canada and Alaska. With other words, we are migration territory. The photo below was shot a couple days ago and the bird spent a few minutes on a small tree in our yard. During our recent trip to Oregon we saw White-crowned Sparrows in abundance. At the coast they are present year-round.

At both occasions I tried to make an environmental portrait. Giving the picture a sense of place or season is my preferred way to photograph wildlife. Including the ocean and the surf in the background let us know that the sparrow was perched right behind the beach. The second photo is totally different. The bird was hiding in a dense tree with lots of little branches and that could be anywhere. No chance to have such a clean background as on Ophir Beach. But the buds had just opened and small leaves showed their fresh green, telling the story about spring migration of the White-crowned Sparrow.

Both photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x, @840 mm

White-crowned Sparrow, Little Maquoketa, Valley, eastern Iowa, May 1, 2025

NATURE CLICKS #270 - WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

I was very happy to see another migrating bird in our yard this morning. A pair of White-crowned Sparrows made an appearance several times during the day. Their breeding ground is in northern Canada. We had them on our balcony below a bird feeder once in January 2010 and we have seen this sparrow before in other parts of the western US, like Colorado and California. 

I was able to make several shots, most of them with the birds foraging in the grass. This was ok but I was hoping for more. When one of them flew into a bush I finally found a background I liked even better. The sparrow did me the favor and tilted its head towards me. A nice gesture which makes the white crown a part of the image. This part of the yard was still in the shade but a carefully dosed fill flash brings out the colors. I guess it’s time to replace my blurry “balcony picture” from 2010 in the BIRD GALLERY. If you haven’t checked it out yet, click on the link in the sidebar of my blog or click the COLLECTIONS tab at the top of this page.