White-crowned Sparrows – Juvenile and Adult (some in the snow)

White-crowned Sparrows are often described as “elegant”, especially as adults and I would have to agree. That’s one of the reasons they’re probably the best studied of all songbirds and one of the best studied of all nongame bird species. They’re attractive for ornithologists to study for other reasons too – they’re widely distributed, abundant and conspicuous. And they thrive in captivity on a simple diet.

 

white-crowned sparrow 5765 ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

I’ve had a lot of fun with them the last few days at Farmington MBR and Antelope Island. I found this juvenile (brown head-stripes rather than black) four days ago as it was perched in a wild rose at Farmington. I like the rose hips in the image but knew I needed more depth of field to get them all sharp but that would cut down my shutter speed – not a good thing for photographing a twitchy little bird.

 

 

white-crowned sparrow 5772 ron dudley

1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

So I compromised by going only to f/8. That gave me a little more DOF and still maintained enough shutter speed for a perched bird in most situations. But then the young bird perked up and assumed a vertical pose when something to my right caught its attention. At that point I thought “oh-oh, it’s going to take off and I don’t have enough SS to get the wings sharp”.

 

 

white-crowned sparrow 5775 ron dudley

1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

And I was right. But I still like the shot, largely because of the tilt of the head and the outstretched legs.

 

 

white-crowned sparrow 5987 ron dudley

1/800, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

But yesterday on Antelope Island conditions were much different. It had snowed during the night so most everything was covered in white fluff and I enjoyed that addition to the setting despite the often cloudy conditions and poor light. This is an adult of the species (black head-stripes rather than the brown of the juvenile) and it and others were cavorting in the snow-covered bushes near White Rock Bay.

 

 

white-crowned sparrow 5981 ron dudley

1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Here the lighting was challenging because there was sun on the hill in the background but the bird was shaded. I thought this head angle really showed off those elegant head stripes.

I love photographing White-crowned Sparrows, partly because they’re often found in mixed flocks of juveniles and adults that are so different from each other so it’s almost like shooting two different species from the same vantage point at the same time.

I’ll take a “twofer” any time I can get it…

Ron

 

 

25 Comments

  1. Gorgeous images Ron!

  2. Arwen said just what I thought when I saw the take off shot. Joy. Loved the link to their song, and one of my cats is now looking for the source.
    Feathered enchantment. And there is a lot of it about.
    Thank you.

  3. Beautiful photos I get many at my feeders, I love their song. I’m glad you didn’t blow away with the east wind. I am hunkered down until the wind passes. I was looking forward to a bit of outdoor exploration over my break from school but I hate east winds. I worry about the birds, every time we get one lasting this long we see an increase in admits to rehab.

    • Yup, that wind is still blowing this morning off the mountains in Davis County, April. The snow blowing off the tops of the mountains was pretty to see but it’s small compensation for putting up with that wind. Here in Murray – nary a breeze…

  4. Such a nice series of one of my favorite little Sparrows…we see them most

    often in the Winter…and they are elegant. Usually found hanging around with White-throated sparrows, another favorite and Juncos. We see them scratching around under the feeder. I live the third shot. The bird looks like a ballet dancer, doing a Flamenco dancer’s impression of a bull fighter…

  5. Pretty, pretty. Thanks Ron.

  6. Beautiful series. I especially like the take-off shot – it’s amazing to me that you were able to catch that pose. The second shot of the adult is very special, too. I really like the composition there.

    • I was lucky to “catch that pose”, Susan. I just happened to push the shutter as it took off. My reflexes usually aren’t fast enough to anticipate take-off with the smaller birds.

  7. Beautiful images!

  8. Outstanding shots, as usual. Along with their visual beauty, the song of the white-crowned sparrow is so beautiful that it can break your heart with its sheer exquisite elegance. Along with the canyon wren and chickadees because they just rock, I’m delighted when I hear them. I’ve often thought that birds were here to teach us humans about music when we arrived on the scene.

  9. Nice! The one in motion works as the body is clear and the blurring in the wings gives the sense of motion. 🙂 The rose hips do add something to the picture. The last one is just flat a good picture. 🙂

    • Judy, Motion blur in wings is usually a matter of taste and of degree. Generally I tend to like them sharper than this but I agree that the softness gives a sense of motion.

  10. Very nice ‘twofer’! The only time I see these guys are in the spring and fall as they are migrating through here in Michigan. They are always a welcomed sight at the outskirts of the normal sparrow flock at my feeders!
    Glad to hear your daughter is making progress in her recovery!

  11. That last one is breathtaking! I also enjoyed the “taking off” one because it looks so joyful to me.

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