While I was out searching for dragonflies last week, I was delighted to spot this colorful Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) and was even more thrilled to get a shot of it. Compared with many other birds, sparrows tend to be somewhat drab in coloration. I think it was the bright red on the top of this bird’s head that caught my eye.
This is the season when colorful warblers pass through my area on their way northward, so my first thought was that this bird might be some kind of warbler. When I got home and looked through my bird identification guide, I realized that it was a sparrow species that I had not previously encountered.
This shot is not quite as sharp as I would have preferred, because I was shooting with a shorter telephoto lens (a Tamron 18-400mm) that I tend to use during the winter months (a Tamron 150-600mm). I can shoot at a lot closer range with the shorter lens, which has a minimum focusing distance of about 18 inches (45 cm) versus almost 9 feet (2.7 m) for the 150-600mm lens. For that reason, I prefer using the shorter telephoto lens or my 180mm macro lens when attempting to photograph insects like dragonflies.
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Mike Powell 