Many of the trails were still covered in snow (but passable) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, so I finally went trekking with my camera. Sparrows were feverishly foraging for tasty tidbits in the bare patches in the trail paralleling the water, including these White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis), one of my favorite winter birds.
These little birds were in constant motion, but it was a lot easier to track them when they were on the ground than in the trees (and I had a long telephoto lens). It was, however, a challenge to capture a moment when the sparrow’s head was not buried in the debris or pointed away from me.
These images may not be as impressive as ones of larger birds, like bald eagles, but I am nonetheless pretty happy to have captured these moment with the sparrows in the snow.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great capture!
The colours of their plumage is wonderful, almost tigerish in my view. Photos are excellent Mike.
Up until recently most of my bird photography has been of passerine birds (especially New World Warblers). I think it takes a lot of patience to photograph small, constantly moving birds.
Fortunately, I have a pretty good amount of patience and take lots of photos to get a few decent ones. 🙂
Impressive, Mike. Particularly given how reflective snow is! But you’ve managed, and the snow makes a gorgeous background for gorgeous subjects!
Thanks, Liz. Taking photos in the snow can be a little tough, especially in getting the exposure right. In recent years we have not had much snow, but this winter is making up for it.