Though House Sparrows tend not to be popular little birds, you have to admit that they are quite attractive. I love these little birds, with their beautifully patterned feathers. This male was actually down at the Calgary Zoo yesterday (flying freely, of course!) and I was quite pleased with this backlit (?) shot.
"House Sparrows are not closely related to the other North American sparrows: they belong to the family of Old World sparrows (Passeridae)." From Birds of Alberta by Chris Fisher and John Acorn.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada nature ornithology avian bird birds fauna Sparrow House Sparrow Passer domesticus non-native introduced perching back view wire bokeh feathers patterns details male image photograph digital square square format single bird close-up no people outdoors day sunlight Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1050691 FZ28 annkelliott Excellence AvianExcellence 1500 adult urban May 6th, 2009 Cornell Lab of Ornithology New York Birder's World Magazine Birds of Calgary
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This was such a beautiful sight today, but something that my photo has not done justice to : (. I spent the whole day with friends, east of the city, in the Irricana/Bruce Lake area for a wide variety of wetland and prairie bird species. We were hoping that we might just be lucky enough to spot the Baikal Teal that was found and seen in this area last Thursday & Friday, but has not been seen since. Most likely, it has moved on. This was the first time it had been recorded in Alberta. On this lovely, mostly sunny spring day, with temperatures between 06-16C, we saw 64 species of birds - a GOOD day, with most enjoyable company : ) Almost every bird was far too distant for photos, I should add : )
Tags: Alberta Canada Irricana/Bruce Lake area Irricana Bruce Lake nature pond slough cattails ornithology avian bird birds Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus Blackbird image photograph digital horizontal several birds perching outdoors color image water Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1050566 FZ28 annkelliott reflections
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I finally got a photo (that I had to crop heavily) that shows what a Northern Shoveler looks like. You can definitely see where its name originated, LOL. I find them very attractive ducks. This was one of 64 species of birds that friends and I saw yesterday, on a drive east of the city to the Irricana and Bruce Lake area.
Tags: Alberta Canada Irricana Bruce Lake area east of Calgary nature ornithology avian bird fauna duck Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata water pond slough swimming Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix PP1050625 FZ28 annkelliott SOE Shield of Excellence male Birdshare
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Well, maybe not quite, LOL, but I'm not too likely to ever get a close shot of one of these pretty little White-crowned Sparrows. I just thought this little one made a cheery, spring photo, despite being such a distant shot (definitely not the kind of photo I like taking!). This one was perched along the bank of the Bow River at Carburn Park this morning. I had wanted to go searching for a Mountain Bluebird afterwards, but - it rained and hailed : )
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Carburn Park nature ornithology avian bird birds Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys fine singer beautiful song tree Poplar branches catkins water river perching Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1060131 FZ28 annkelliott
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I think these are two of my favourite photos - "just" a little House Sparrow male : ) I'm always so happy when I can get a close shot of any bird - so many of them are far, far away and totally out of reach for my little point-and-shoot : )
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada nature ornithology avian fauna bird birds Sparrow House Sparrow male Passer domesticus Old World Sparrow introduced non-native Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1050689 FZ28 annkelliott Beautiful_Expression NaturesFinest Excellence AvianExcellence
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