Even when the weather is cold and overcast, I can usually count on finding sparrows in the marsh and in the field, cheerfully pecking about in the undergrowth. Their positive, hard-working approach and predisposition to spontaneously breaking out in song never fails to lift my spirits.
I have gotten to the point where I can identify some sparrows, but many of them continue to confound me. I think the one in the first photo is a Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana), but I am not sure of the identity of the rotund little sparrow in the second photo.
I remember when I used to categorize all sparrows as “little brown birds,” but have grown to appreciate their beauty and individuality.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
The only sparrow with the strongly barred chests are the Song sparrow and Fox sparrow. The latter are quite large (for sparrows), noticeably larger than the swamp sparrow in the first photo. Most likely the second one is a song sparrow. Did you see a black dot in the center of the breast?
Sparrows are one of my favourite birds. We don’t get marsh sparrows near us and I find sparrows difficult to identify at our feeding station even with female chaffinches, dunnocks and other sparrows.
I’ll leave the bird identification to you-plants are hard enough. It’s enough for me to just be able to hear their songs as i walk through the woods.
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