From my July 1st Henslow’s sparrow expedition. I did not originally share this image, but after going through the day’s photos again, I think this is my favorite of the bunch. Like many birders, sparrows seem to grow on you over time. At first they are easy to pass over. They are not the most colorful or glamorous, and it can be hard to tell them apart. But the more I learn about them, the more I find that they are interesting birds, living in diverse habitats, adapted in different ways, with different habits, different songs, and different personalities. The very common flowering plant on which it is perched is called fleabane (𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘶𝘴). It’s name comes from the fact that its odor was believed to repel fleas.
Henslow’s Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii) on Fleabane | Shaker Village | Harrodsburg, KY
500mm | 1/1,600th second | f/8.0 | ISO900