Song Sparrow

This brave Song Sparrow actually hopped within a few feet of me on the boardwalk at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I suppose it is used to people and used to them feeding the ducks that it felt compelled to approach me as it did. It even stood by while I squatted down to get a better vantage point to shoot from. I can't image that it was desperately hungry.

As I have mentioned in the past, even though they are very common, Song Sparrows are one of my favorite to shoot as they can be such willing posers; especially during the breeding season.

Song Sparrow - Juvenile

While I wait in anticipation of the coming holiday with hopes of better weather so I can finally get out and do some birding, I have been going through some past pictures.

I took this picture of a juvenile Song Sparrow as I trekked across the sand dunes at Bayocean Spit towards the beach on August 13th. Juvenile Song Sparrows that I have seen tend to be a bit scruffy looking and variable in the amount of breast striping. This one has very little striping, but I'm still quite sure it is a Song Sparrow as its overall look says Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow - Early Fledgling

Travel, travel, travel. I'm getting tired of it. I've been on the road on business four of the last six weeks. On top of that, I've been fighting a cold for going on two weeks now. Oh well, could be worse, could be raining. Oops.
Last Sunday I stopped by Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. I don't bird there as often since I've discovered Fernhill Wetlands. It was mid-afternoon and things were fairly slow as expected. Highlights include my first Ring-necked Pheasant photograph, though it was way off in the distance. It's been the only bird I have seen and positively identified and not photographed. I also saw a few Warbling Vireos. Last spring I saw one, this spring I've seen many in lots of various places. Not sure why.

Another interesting sighting was that of an early Song Sparrow fledgling. You can see the gummy corners of its bill in the images above. I saw some of these last year as well and they threw me for a while. This is quite a bit earlier than I noticed them last year.The next two images are adults. I took one of my favorite pictures of a Song Sparrow on this same wire last spring about this time.

Song Sparrow

As with last year at this time, Song Sparrows are providing themselves as excellent subjects. This one appears to be going through a molt.

Song Sparrow

A Song Sparrow taken at RNWR on Feb 25.

Song Sparrow

The telltale signs of Spring are starting to emerge. Though I did not capture it in an image, this Song Sparrow was singing just moments before I took its picture at Wilsonville Memorial Park on Monday. It was a pleasure to hear over the raspy chirp they call a song in the Autumn and Winter months. Also note the leaves budding out in the upper right hand corner.

Song Sparrow

When I first resurrected this hobby early last Spring, I'd typically always get pictures of Song Sparrows. They would be so busy singing that they would let me get quite close and I was able to get many great pictures.
Then came Summer and later Autumn and Song Sparrows kinda went under cover. When I do see them, they are typically down in the grass out of sight. I know they are around though as I hear them. Not the glorious song of Spring but a single chirp. It took me a while to realize that the chirp was a Song Sparrow, but I now recognize it without having to see the bird.
The image above was taken last Saturday at Fernhill Wetlands. It was a very gloomy, overcast day so many of the pictures I took have a lot of background noise. This one is better than most and I was happy to have a Song Sparrow pose for me again.

Song Sparrow - Juvenile

A juvenile Song Sparrow in a grove of trees at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve.

Song Sparrow

Another Song Sparrow picture. I decided to post two different croppings of the same picture. Grrrr, Blogger washed them out a little again.

Song Sparrow

I can always rely on a Song Sparrow to provide me with a great picture opportunity. They are trusting enough and common enough that I get a close opportunity just about every time I go out.

Song Sparrow

The old reliable Song Sparrow. They're cute, sing a pretty song, are plentiful and let you get in close. This one greeted me at TRNWR as I started out on the south service road. This short stretch of road has been bountiful for picture taking opportunities. I've seen Song Sparrows, male and female Yellowthroat and Spotted Sandpiper within close range on a regular basis and is the source of few of the more recent postings.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrows here in Oregon, at least this time of the year, are like House Sparrows were when I was growing up in Minnesota. They are everywhere. They are reasonably trusting so I can get pretty close, like in this picture, and make for a good picture. This one was sitting on a barbed wire along top of a fence by Teal Pond at Jackson Bottom Wetlands. I like the contrast between the warmth of the organic against the cold of the wire. The colors also work well together.

Song Sparrow

Maybe I should start a blog just for Song Sparrows. :-) I caught this one just as a burst of wind occurred on an otherwise calm day. Another image from the bird blind at TRNWR.

Song Sparrow

What the heck, how about another. I took this shot of a Song Sparrow from the observation deck at TRNWR during another quick lunch walk.

Song Sparrow

Another Song Sparrow. They seem to be everywhere. I run across them and think to myself, "Another song sparrow, I have so many pictures of Song Sparrows." But they are so much fun to shot and usually provide some great poses. I ran across this one at just before I emerged from the trail onto the parking lot. The lighting was nice and I love the broken tree trunk it's sitting on.

Song Sparrow

This is my third posting of a Song Sparrow. They are very common this time of the year. I'm posting this one more for the aesthetics of the image than for illustrating a Song Sparrow. Most of the time I crop the image down to bring the bird in quite close, but I liked the branches so much, I decided to feature them.
This picture was taken yesterday during my first trip to Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. I spent about 4 hours there in the morning. It's about a 45 minute drive, so I loose a lot of day in travel, but it looked like a very promising location on the web where I read about it. It turned out to be a site with high potential. Yesterday wasn't the best day as it was cloudy, rainy and gloomy. It was also flooded in a lot of areas. None-the-less, I photographed many birds (took 659 pictures) including ones I had not yet seen. Many pictures did not turn out real well because of the weather conditions (low light), but it was a great experience and I will definitely return.

Song Sparrow (Singing)

At the same time that I was trying to get good shots of the Bushtits, there was a Song Sparrow that was singing happily in the sunshine. It played a bit of hide and seek with me, not letting me get too close, but I was able to get these two shots showing it in a tree and on the top of a bush.

Song Sparrow

While I saw several Song Sparrows last Saturday at the Garden, it was hard to get a picture of them as they were either hidden within some leaves or branches or moving around too much. I did manage to get a few of this one. The top image provides a good view of its back and tail, while the bottom image provides a good view of its breast and face.