On many cold winter days, sparrows are the most common birds that I see. No matter how inclement the weather may be, sparrows are busily foraging in the trees and on the ground. Last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, on a day when it was sunny, but frigid, I was able to capture little environmental portraits of these three sparrows, all of which I believe are Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia).
My favorite of these three images is definitely the first one, with its smooth background colors and the linear shapes of the vines. However, I also really like the way that the second and third images show the little birds in their environments, with one with a cool palette of colors and the other with a touch of sunshine and warmer tones.
Many of you know that I love to photograph large birds like hawks and eagles, but I equally enjoy capturing the beauty of smaller birds, like these sparrows. Beauty is everywhere.
A belated Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate Christmas. I decided to turn off my computer yesterday and am starting to catch up today. On Christmas Eve, I played handbells in one church service and then sang in a choir for a second service. On Christmas Day, I ran the audio video portion of our service that we also broadcast on Zoom, so I have been pretty busy
In the Episcopal Church that I now attend, we have only just begun our celebration of Christmas and will continue to do so until Epiphany on 6 January, when we celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men. I grew up singing the song The Twelve Days of Christmas and thought that it referred to the twelve days leading up to Christmas. It was only later in my adult life that I learned that Christmas Day itself is the first day of Christmas. The radio stations may already have moved on from playing Christmas songs, but I will continue to do so for at least another 10 days or so (and I actually like singing Christmas carols throughout the year).
Merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2023.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Awesome 👌
Thanks, Michael.
You’re welcome Mike.
Merry Christmas 😁.
Thanks, Ted.
I also like the first one best, but the others in their natural surroundings are lovely shots, too. They all look like they’re thriving very nicely this winter!
Thanks. There seems to be a pretty good natural supply of food for these birds in the places that I visit. I must confess, though, that I am amazed that little creatures like this can survive the single digit temperatures that we had this past weekend.
Nice Mike! Hope you had a Great Christmas!