House Sparrows

A little House Sparrow enjoying the welcome sunshine - seen when I dashed over to the Zoo yesterday afternoon. I just liked his pose and the matching colours of the bokeh.

I was happy to spot this young House Sparrow yesterday, when I went with my oldest daughter to Heritage Park. I so rarely see baby birds of any species. Did you know that the House Sparrow originated in the Middle East? Had a great walk from the Boat Launch to south of Highway 22X this morning - a good variety of birds (47 species) including a Western Kingbird, Great Blue Heron and Baltimore Orioles (all very distant I should add!), a couple of insects, and a few species of wildflowers. After this walk, several of us went to a different part of the park where we were shown the nesting tree of a Great Horned Owl, and then three young owls and Mom of another owl family not far away. What a sight to see. Will be out all evening on a Mountain Bluebird route. Wow, we are in a dreadful thunder, lightning and RAIN storm - not sure I've ever heard such torrential rain!! I have a parking lot behind my place and it has turned into a shallow lake in just a matter of minutes! Hope we aren't in for serious flooding like further south in Alberta. I also hope that places like Medicine Hat are not having this same storm that we are getting, to add to their misery. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Sparrow

Sorry, another little everyday House Sparrow, but I liked the way that the sun brought out the details of those quite pretty feathers. He was waiting, hoping that I would put 25c in the seed machine (at the Calgary Zoo), really meant for feeding the local Mallards.

One of the little fluffed up (male) House Sparrows that live at (or visit) the Calgary Zoo. Another cold day.

I love photographing House Sparrows, but usually the only time I get photos is when I am at the Calgary Zoo : ) This little guy was hanging out with dozens of his family and friends and perched for a moment amongst the fall-coloured leaves.

This was a young House Sparrow that I saw while visiting Heritage Park with my oldest daughter on 21st June. It offered me the chance to get two or three nice shots : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Sparrow

"Just" another little lowly House Sparrow. Found him hoping for some seed inside the Zoo grounds the other day.

Couldn't resist a quick shot of this female House Sparrow, basking in the sun just before I left the Zoo late this afternoon, after a five-hour visit.

Another of my cold House Sparrow images that I took mid-March 2008. He sure looks different from his usual sleek self, all puffed up on a bitterly cold day.