Sparrows generally fall into the general category of “little brown birds” for me and I get frustrated when I try to identify them. I decided, however, that I need to learn more about birds and attempted to identify this little bird that perched atop a cattail and provided me with a photo opportunity this past weekend. After some research on-line, I am pretty confident that this is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and I like the way the image captured the beauty of the bird and the fuzziness of the cattails.
I may be wrong about the identification, but my effort has at least caused me to look more closely at the coloration and markings of the birds. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be getting a bird guide (and maybe even some binoculars) soon.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful capture!
Thanks. So many of the little birds congregate down at the bottom of the cattails, but this one chose to be cooperative.
It is a song sparrow. They have a “stick pin” on their breast. It was nice of it to pose so admiralbly for your benefil.
Wow. I actually identified one correctly! Thanks for the confirmation. At the moment I am not selective about the birds that I photograph. I will try to take a photo of almost any bird that will sit still for a second (and even some that are flying).
Great composition and colours – nice overall effect.
That’s a great picture, I think. It sounds like you’ve really been bitten by the nature bug-I always try to carry binoculars as well as cameras.
I’ve always been a curious person, thanks in part to a liberal arts education. I’m at a point in my life where I’m trying to slow down a little, and the wonderful world of nature is helping me to do so. The sights, sounds, and smells are new and foreign to me, since I’ve been lived most of my life in the suburbs. Yes, I have been bitten by the photo bug and to a significant degree by the natuer bug.
Always nice to see Sparrows, a lovely shot Mike.