White-throated Sparrow

As another great year of birding and photography comes to a close, there were several highlights that come to mind for 2012.

One nemesis bird I had been trying to get better shots of,

… was the Common Redpoll.

A life list addition was the Red-necked Stint,

… which is a rare visitor and not photographed often around here.

A couple of shore birds I have not managed to photograph for a few years.

A Ruff (juvenile),

… the American Golden-Plover,

… and after several attempts,

… the White-throated Sparrow.

While not the best day for photos,

… the Cave Swallow was another life list addition.

The last life list addition of the year,

… was the Sage Thrasher this month.

Happy New Year!

With the wind and rain warnings in the weather forecast for today I was not holding out much hope for a walk. Around lunch it started to slow down a little and just after one the rain stopped. Realizing there would probably not be much of a break I headed out to Reifel. I normally try to volunteer there on Sunday afternoon’s. There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot on arriving. Not surprising given the earlier conditions. On speaking with Brian, another volunteer, he mentioned a couple of White-throated Sparrows had been seen earlier. Yippee! My odds just increased and I was off to try again. I was about half way along the east dyke trail scanning sparrows when something different got my attention.

Finally I had managed to locate one of the White-throated Sparrows.

An uncommon visitor to this area that can usually be seen this time of year.

The White-throated Sparrow, along with others, spend a lot of time foraging on the ground. With this in mind the tripod was collapsed low and I was shooting from my knees. Much the same approach as with the shore birds on the beach. While it is great when you can them perching on a nice branch, sometimes you just have to go where they are.

It has been four years since my last photos of a White-throated Sparrow. The perseverance of the last week or so finally paid off.

Bonus bird photo of the day was this Brown Creeper on my way back as the rain was starting again.

Tag: White-throated Sparrow

Birding Highlights Of 2012