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Posts Tagged ‘snow bird’

Song Sparrows in the Snow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, snow, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on January 23, 2024| 1 Comment »

I observed Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) foraging for food on the ground at multiple locations last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the time they would fly away as I approached, but occasionally one of them would choose a new snow-covered perch that was still within range of my long telephoto zoom lens.

The two photos below are mostly monochromatic, composed primarily of various shades of brown and white. The warmth of the browns helps to warm up the photos a little, despite the abundance of snow. I think the photos would have felt cooler and more stark if I had converted them to black and white.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Snow bird

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, snow, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

This Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) looks like it was buried in deep snow, but was merely hidden by a small snowdrift between the two of us as it foraged for food in a small open patch on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

This photo reminds me of my childhood days growing up in New England. After a snowfall, we would build snow forts and have massive snowball fights. We would crouch behind the walls of our forts and periodically peer over the top of the walls (like this sparrow) before raising up to launch another volley of snowballs. These days I am more likely to build a snowman than a snow fort, although, alas, I did not take advantage of the opportunity to do so this past week.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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