WINTER SPARROW VARIETY (4 CHOICES)

I have been an advocate for paying attention to the more common species of birds since wildlife photography became part of my life. It means, the ones we may see almost every day or the kind of bird that doesn’t draw the attention as much as a more exotic looking species. Sparrows are mostly overlooked. They are small and because many of them are not so rare makes us thinking, a sparrow is just another sparrow. You know what I mean. Last weekend the appearance of a couple species, that are here only seasonal, made me focus with the camera on this agile ground feeders. You can decide which one you like the best. I just love all of them!

American Tree Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

They have their breeding grounds high up in northern Canada and Alaska but during winter time the American Tree Sparrow spends its time here, in particular in trees and shrubs along streams. Most of the time I see them along the Mississippi River but this photo was made just on our snow covered balcony.

White-throated Sparrow

Another sparrow that breeds up in Canada, northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It seems there is always one that hangs out with the local bunch of house Sparrows during the cold months of the year.

Dark -eyed-Junco

Although it doesn’t have the word ‘sparrow’ in its name, they belong to this family. I recently reported about this species here in the blog. The Dark-eyed Junco is our best “winter indicator”. If they show up, you can be sure temperatures below freezing are not far away. In late winter, when the Dark-eyed Juncos suddenly disappear, we just know, the snow shovel can be put away for the season (exceptions are possible! 😉)

House Sparrow

We have a little flock here every winter. They like the cover beneath the mountain pines we planted next to the house years ago. This one is obviously a young male sparrow. However, he doesn’t look right! It’s obvious that his tail feathers are missing. We only can guess if our local Sharp-shinned Hawk got a hold of him, but the most common of all sparrows escaped…

NATURE CLICKS #539 - DARK-EYED JUNCO

Dark-eyed Junco, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

A couple inches of wet snow fell last night and with that white reflector on the ground I tried to capture some pictures of the birds who visited our bird feeders during the late afternoon. With an overcast in the sky the light faded away quickly after 4pm. First I considered to use a flash but the reflection of the snow was enough to throw some light from underneath. The car was parked in our driveway and I used it as a blind. We have lots of Northern Cardinals here at the moment and with their bright red they are always photogenic. Today they didn’t come close enough but it was fun to work with the Dark-eyed Juncos instead. This medium-sized sparrow is here only during winter time. They have a considerable geographic color variation but in our region the slate-colored is mostly seen. They forage primarily on the ground but perch sometimes briefly on low hanging branches when they move around.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/250 s, f/6.3, ISO 1600

NATURE CLICKS #514 - DARK-EYED JUNCO

Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Eastern Iowa, February 2022

There is no better winter indicator beside fresh snow, than the appearance of the Dark-eyed Junco. When they show up here, mostly sometime in December, we know, snow and cold temperatures are on their way. At the other hand, as soon we do not have this sparrow around anymore, spring might be on its way. We have a few more warmer days in the forecast this week after the temperature went up slightly above the freezing point today, and at no surprise, the juncos just disappeared. Well, that doesn’t mean they won’t come back…

I think I mentioned before in another blog post, they are difficult to photograph in low light. If their eye doesn’t have a spotlight from the sun (or maybe a flash), it just blends in with the dark head and the photo looks kinda flat. No juncos today, but this image is from last weekend when frost still dictated the weather.

Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 600 mm, 1/320 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

NATURE CLICKS #437 - FOX SPARROW

We haven’t seen many other bird species beside our “regulars” during this winter so far. This is mainly due to the mild weather we had in December and partly even in January. There is obviously still enough food available further north , means no reason to come here for Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, or Red-breasted Nuthatch. After the last snow storm this weekend I finally spotted a couple sparrows that are not on the list of our regular visitors. A beautiful White-throated Sparrow was here briefly last Sunday but I wasn’t able to make a photo. At the same time a Fox Sparrow showed up and hasn’t left us since. This large and chubby looking sparrow is bigger than its relatives the House Sparrow or the Dark-eyed Junco that we see at the moment. This sparrow feeds on the ground and even if this photo doesn’t have the best perspective, it gives you an idea how they try to find seeds between dried up garden flowers or around bird feeders.

NATURE CLICKS #394 - AMERICAN TREE SPARROW

The photo is already two days old. Life stood in the way for posting here in the blog. That is not a big deal because it was three years ago when I had the last time an American Tree Sparrow in front of the lens. Wednesday night along the waters of the Deere Marsh at the Mississippi River I found a “grove” of them. When I walk on top of the dyke towards the river with our little dog Cooper I usually take the camera with me. This location is always good for some discoveries.

The American Tree Sparrow is here only during the winter time. Their breeding range is in northern Canada and Alaska. Speaking of winter, we have some snow in the forecast for tomorrow. When the ground is covered with snow, the tree sparrows will beat tall weeds with their wings and feed on the seeds that may have fallen down. I thought this is an interesting fact, I just learned from my favorite bird identification app on the phone, iBird PRO. Enjoy your weekend!

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, @ 600 mm, 1/400 s, f/6.3, ISO 400

 

NATURE CLICKS #330 - WHITE-THROATED SPARROW

Like anybody else I like this time of the year. There is so much going on in nature that it is really not difficult to find a photo that tells a story about the season. We had a rain shower this afternoon, much needed after the top soil in the yard got a little dry during the warm days we had recently. The time after the rain is also a good time to go out shooting and looking for birds, and that’s what I did this evening just here in the woods around our house.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Better Beamer flash extender

In February I posted already a picture of a White-throated Sparrow. We are at the north end of their winter range but it was the first time that we saw this species so early in a year. It is not so unusual to see them in April during their migration and today we had three White-throated Sparrows foraging here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley.

EARLY VISITOR

White-throated Sparrow,  Little Maquoketa River Valley near Durango, Iowa

Winter was telling us today that is not over yet by letting it snow pretty much all day. As a result we had a lot of activities around our bird feeders. It was a nice surprise to see a White-throated Sparrow, who visited several times. We are at the northern edge of their winter range according to my field guides, but it is the first time that we have seen one in February. Other years my earliest photos were made in April.

It’s not a tack sharp image but I thought I show it anyway, because beside photography my blog has always been about sharing wildlife encounters and locations.

NATURE CLICKS #277 - SONG SPARROW

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

We can talk about the Baltimore Oriole all day long, everybody would agree that this bird is one of the prettiest and most wonderful sounding song birds in America. The Song Sparrow may not win the beauty contest in comparison to the oriole but its singing capabilities are not far from those of the oriole.

The Song Sparrow migrates but I have seen them here in Iowa even during the winter down at the Mississippi River.

NATURE CLICKS #276 - PURPLE MARTIN

Female Purple Martin

Finding the Purple Martin is not a big problem along the Mississippi River. Most nest in colonies and use man-made birdhouses. Almost every boat landing, community, or park has them. We made another paddle tour in the Mud Lake area at the Mississippi yesterday and after the kayaks were loaded on the roof of the car I was able to photograph this species of the swallow family.

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

Although the availability for natural nest cavities has declined over the years, the increased availability of human-provided nest sites has a positive effect on population. The Purple Martin competes with European Starlings and, as in the case of Mud Lake Park, with the House Sparrows for nest cavities. They share the big birdhouse at the boat landing with the sparrows, but as you can see in the second image it is not always a friendly relationship between these two species

Male Purple Martin

None of the photos would have worked very well without using fill flash. I just threw enough light at the birds to bring out the shadows and make the colors pop. It is a fine line and can be easily overdone.

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.

BOOSTING COLORS WITH FILL FLASH

White-throated Sparrow

I used my lunch break today for some practice with fill flash in the front yard and the local birds served as my models. Suddenly I saw a “new face” showing up and recognized immediately a White-throated Sparrow, the first one migrating through. It rested briefly in the shade of our big maple, on a boulder that sits between the spring flowers. There aren’t many birds that are better for practice and testing than this sparrow with its white throat. The bird has black and white that provides good contrast for focus and it has colors, ideal for checking the results of using fill flash for color enhancement.

Without fill flash the second photo, made in bright sun around 1PM, would not turn out the way it is. The White-throated Sparrow, which sat in the shade under a feeder, would have been very dark or the highlights of the surrounding flowers and grass would have been blown out. I hope to see this bird again in the next few days... :-)

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB800 speed light

WINTER IS BACK!

Male Dark-eyed Junco

…and with it several dozen birds I thought had moved further north already. A fresh layer of snow, about 2 -3 inches, covered everything up last night and made our first Schneeglöckchen (snow bells) disappear again. :-(

During the last eleven winters I lived here in Iowa we learned that winter is not over as long we see the Dark-eyed Juncos. Here in Eastern Iowa we see the slate-colored form of this sparrow during the cold season. Their breeding grounds are up in Canada and usually they take off as soon the days get warmer. Well, today there were lots of them below our feeders and in the trees around, and that means nothing but winter is not over yet… ;-)