I had the great fortune of getting eye to eye with a migrant Sage Sparrow in early March of 2012 as I was birding the Provo Airport Dike along the east shore of Utah Lake. It's not unusual to see Sage Sparrows (interior west subspecies) along that dike during spring and fall migrations as they make their way to more suitable sage habitats. The sparrow I encountered last March allowed me to slowly approach on foot and gave me the opportunity to essentially get down to ground level for some eye to eye contact while it foraged for seeds and made a few typical sage-sparrow dashes from one bush to another with its tail held high. It also displayed another behavior typical for Sage Sparrows--holding the tail high and flicking it to one side or the other. I've included an image of one tail flick and numerous other imaged to share a 360-degree view of this awesome sparrow.
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
The image below captured a moment when I was essentially on the ground next to the sparrow. It seemed to have a curious what-are-you-doing look as it turned toward me.
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
The image below shows the sparrow flicking its highly-held tail to the side.
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Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) Demonstrating Typical Tail-Flick on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT
(Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
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| Sage Sparrow (interior west subspecies) on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper) |
Very stellar close-ups Jeff. What a migrating gift!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laurence! I've been enjoying your spring break posts.
DeleteJeff,
ReplyDeletelovely pics of a sage sparrow! I've always wanted to get a shot of one. About 4 years ago, I saw some - or thought I did- at the mouth of Milleville canyon, which is not too far from my house, but I didn't have my good camera at that time and haven't seen any since then.