White-crowned Sparrow, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM

My friend and fellow photographer, John Van’t Land, posted a shot of a White-crowned Sparrow yesterday, with the note to the effect that he can never see too many White-crowns. And I agree. They are delightful, perky little birds, and their flocks, when they arrive from the high alpine regions where they nest to winter in the “lowlands” of the west (we got them at 6500 feet in Rehoboth New Mexico when I lived there and they were certainly abundant at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro New Mexico at 4500 feet during the Festival of the Cranes) they are always a cheerful sight to see. This shot is in the brush near the Visitor Center at Bosque. My daughter Sarah and I were chasing Gimbal’s Quail (without success…we saw many, photographed none) when this small flock of White-crowns blew by and stopped to pose.

Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. 1/250 @ ISO 100 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom. Cropped slightly on the right for composition.