July 2014 – Lake Superior shoreline

This one was poking around some roadside shrubs along the north shore of Lake Superior.

White-throated Sparrow

Another shot of another bird, in the same vicinity.

White-throated Sparrow

May 2014 – Kiger Mustang Special Area, Oregon
Brewer’s Sparrows are fairly common in the desert sagebrush. But, they’re much more easily heard than seen… or photographed.

Brewer’s Sparrow

May 2014 – Pueblo Mountains, Oregon
This is a pretty crummy/blurry photo of a Vesper Sparrow, but the only one I’ve managed up to this point… so up it goes! There are a number of sparrows common to this area. I didn’t see a whole lot of Vesper Sparrows, but they were obviously mixed-in.

Vesper Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

April 2013 – Mosier, Oregon

This Chipping Sparrow is perched in a Ponderosa Pine, just outside the town of Mosier, Oregon. It was singing its trademark and distinctive song – a simple high-pitched flutter, about 1-2 seconds long.

Rufous-collared Sparrow

February 2013 – Central highlands of Costa Rica

These birds appeared to be rather common in the high elevations of central Costa Rica… I saw them mostly in places that had been disturbed by human habitation… sort of like an exotic version of a House Sparrow.

Dark-eyed Junco

January 2013 – Hillsboro, OR

More Dark-eyed Juncos on a branch… Ok, maybe time to “branch out” from this setup…

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco

December 2012 – Hillsboro, OR

These are common backyard visitors… visiting the back yard. I took this image and the one below trying out a new camera trap – an automatic trigger when the bird lands on the branch. Still have to work out the bugs on this, but it shows promise.

Dark-eyed Junco

Golden-crowned Sparrow

December 2012 – Eugene, Oregon

A few of these birds were visiting a back yard in Eugene, OR. Sometimes, you can barely see the yellow-crown, but there’s no mistaking it. Read More →

White-crowned Sparrow

August 2012 – Wind River Mountains, Wyoming

At first I thought these were some more exotic species, but didn’t take long to realize they were the familiar White-crowned sparrow. This one was chomping on a caterpillar at about 10,000ft elevation.

White-Crowned Sparrow

May 2011 – Blacklock Point, Oregon

I’ve always thought that the White-crowned Sparrow was a lucky bird – saved from an otherwise drab existence by a few brilliant zebra stripes on the crown. If it wasn’t for that I’m not sure they’d get much attention.

This bird was busy eating seeds from some ground-cover plant on top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, near Blacklock Point, Oregon. He was so unconcerned by my presence that I was able to get within a few feet. In fact, I had to back-up, because my lens couldn’t focus that close!

Song Sparrow

May 2010 – Shore Acres State Park, Oregon

These are ubiquitous little birds that sometimes don’t get their due respect. Most birds that are common in suburbia suffer this fate – especially when they’re colored a mostly plain brown. But, the Song Sparrow has a powerful voices and beautiful song. I never get tired of them. This photo is from Shore Acres state park along the southern Oregon coast.