Henslow's Sparrow (Indiana)

[Dorian Anderson]

Henslow's Sparrow, since I f'd it up in the title and can't change it!

This shy species usually stays buried in thick grass, so I was stoked to nail this individual on a dreary morning. No audio, just an hour of stalking. This bird was only ~15 inches off the ground
so I had to lay in the wet grass and shoot up on it to get the clean BG.

This is only the 3rd time I've seen this bird in 35 years of birding.

The tail coming out of the focal plane isn't ideal -- and I'd rather have the bird facing the other way (i.e. away from the perch) -- but I kept this frame cuz this bird is a ***** to capture.

As an interesting trivia, this species has the structurally-simplest song of any North American songbird; it's two thin, insect-like notes.

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/1600 at f/5.6, ISO 1600
Processed in LR CC and Topaz. Did clone one rogue twig on the left hand side of the main perch.

• Canon EOS R5
• EF600mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4x III
• ƒ/5.6
• 840mm
• 1/1600s
• ISO 1600
• dorian anderson
• Thu, 02 June 2022 6:41 AM
• dorian anderson
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 9.4 (Macintosh)

 

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Dorian, you patience and work was rewarded. Your on a roll with the previous warblers and now this sparrow. I knew of this sparrow but have never seen on so this is a treat. Nice clean image, colors, feather detail and background look good. I like the image, thank you for sharing.

 

[Brian Sump]

Dorian, sure you would have wished for some colorful flora for this to perch on, but given the rarity and certainly the fact that I've never even seen one, to get close enough with such a sweet pose is a real win.

Great eye contact, nice and sharp and offsetting neutral green bkg work well. Congrats!

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Pleasing shot, you patience served you well, I like the pose and the tail doesn't bother me one bit, I would expect the tail to be OOF at that angle and magnification.
If the twig was sharpened I would consider reducing it.

 

[Arthur Morris]

You made the most of a difficult pose and situation. Title is corrected.

with love, artie

 

[Bill Dix]

Yet another hard-to-get little bird. Well done and congratulations! My only encounter with one of these guys was two years ago, when one popped up expectantly at a local grassland and was visited by a hoard of birders. He was singing his heart out, intermittently, on an open perch too far for anything but an ID shot. I'd love to have this one in my sparrow files.

 

[Daniel Cadieux]

You've scoring on lots of interesting species! Very close-looking to a Grasshopper Sparrow on the head shape. Despite the challenge, you came away with something more than half-decent to add to your files. I'd be OK with the subject a touch lower n the frame, but fine as is as well.

 

[dankearl]

Very Cool. Pose is excellent, has a lot of interest.