Fox Sparrow - Bruant fauve
This fall was the first time I became aware of some lingering Fox Sparrows, who joined a few lingering Hermit Thrushes in the woods. I love Fox Sparrows - the behaviour, the deep rufous plumage - but they are notoriously skittish and often well-hidden, so hard to photograph. And they typically blow through Ottawa in a couple of days.
The birds that stayed around for a couple of weeks were enjoying the mild fall, and the abundant wildflower and wild grass seeds. They scoured the areas off the trails, with their awesome double-footed kick back lifting leaves and revealing insects and seeds beneath them. They were almost always mixed in to a small flock of White-throated Sparrows.
I had a couple of approaches to trying to photograph them, mostly based on observation. The first was to lie down on the ground in an area that the White-throated Sparrows were occupying, waiting for the Fox Sparrows to join them. That worked, and I will post a few of those images later.
The second was to watch where they flushed to, if they were disturbed by squirrels or people. I would go there and try to find angles with the light. This image came from that strategy. I like the colours in the leaves and the background, which seem to work well with the bird’s colouring, and the early light. And I don’t dislike the leaf strategically placed in front of the bird (!!), or the unusually erect pose.
The key to both approaches was to be out early, as, like my teenaged son, Fox Sparrows are late risers. Already being there minimized the likelihood of scaring them away.
It was fun to spend time with them, and to get some decent images. An onslaught of work late in the fall meant that I never got the chance to review and post things I had taken in the fall, so I am mixing them in now with some winter birds. Warblers will be here in two months - I better post last fall’s before they arrive.
Fox Sparrow - Bruant fauve
This fall was the first time I became aware of some lingering Fox Sparrows, who joined a few lingering Hermit Thrushes in the woods. I love Fox Sparrows - the behaviour, the deep rufous plumage - but they are notoriously skittish and often well-hidden, so hard to photograph. And they typically blow through Ottawa in a couple of days.
The birds that stayed around for a couple of weeks were enjoying the mild fall, and the abundant wildflower and wild grass seeds. They scoured the areas off the trails, with their awesome double-footed kick back lifting leaves and revealing insects and seeds beneath them. They were almost always mixed in to a small flock of White-throated Sparrows.
I had a couple of approaches to trying to photograph them, mostly based on observation. The first was to lie down on the ground in an area that the White-throated Sparrows were occupying, waiting for the Fox Sparrows to join them. That worked, and I will post a few of those images later.
The second was to watch where they flushed to, if they were disturbed by squirrels or people. I would go there and try to find angles with the light. This image came from that strategy. I like the colours in the leaves and the background, which seem to work well with the bird’s colouring, and the early light. And I don’t dislike the leaf strategically placed in front of the bird (!!), or the unusually erect pose.
The key to both approaches was to be out early, as, like my teenaged son, Fox Sparrows are late risers. Already being there minimized the likelihood of scaring them away.
It was fun to spend time with them, and to get some decent images. An onslaught of work late in the fall meant that I never got the chance to review and post things I had taken in the fall, so I am mixing them in now with some winter birds. Warblers will be here in two months - I better post last fall’s before they arrive.