There’s something about a fresh blanket of snow that turns a backyard into a clean stage. This White-throated Sparrow showed up in my yard and gave me a few quick chances before it blended back into the winter routine.
Wildlife Notes: White-throated Sparrow in winter
White-throated Sparrows are one of those winter visitors that can feel like they appear overnight. Around my place in Arkansas, they tend to show up when the season turns cold and stick close to the ground where food is easiest to find.
In these photos, the bird is doing what sparrows do best in winter, staying low, staying alert, and moving in short bursts. The hop in the snow is a classic sparrow move. Quick, efficient, and always ready to dart if something feels off.
How I knew what I was looking at
The easiest clues on this bird were the bold head stripes and the yellow spot between the eye and the bill. That yellow “eyebrow area” is a great hint when you catch it in good light. The white throat can be subtle depending on angle and shadow, especially when the bird is fluffed up against the cold, but the overall face pattern still points you in the right direction.
Snow changes the feeding game
After a snow, a lot of natural seed and insect activity gets covered up. That pushes birds to scratch along edges, exposed patches, and anything that collects blown-in seed. If you’ve got a feeder nearby, the ground under it becomes a busy place fast. Even when birds are visiting feeders, many of them still prefer to pick up dropped seed on the snow instead of perching.
If you’ve been following my little run of backyard snow birds, this White-throated Sparrow fit right into the same pattern I saw with other visitors. Here are the other posts from this stretch of yard time:
- First Snow, First Visitors: Dark-eyed Juncos in My Arkansas Yard
- American Goldfinch at My Feeder After Arkansas Snow
- Harris’s Sparrow Feeding in Fresh Arkansas Snow
- Female Northern Cardinal in Fresh Snow, Arkansas Yard
- Male Northern Cardinal in Fresh Snow in My Arkansas Yard
- Red-bellied Woodpecker on Suet After an Arkansas Snow
- Downy Woodpecker on a Suet Log After an Arkansas Snow
- Female Red-winged Blackbird After Snow in My Arkansas Yard
Photography Notes: freezing quick movement on snow
Snow is bright, but it can trick your camera meter into underexposing the scene. I leaned into that by riding positive exposure compensation so the snow stayed bright and clean, and the bird didn’t turn into a dark lump.
These sparrows also move fast, even when they look calm. A high shutter speed gave me a better chance of freezing those little hops and head turns.
Camera settings used
- Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
- Lens: Canon RF 200–800mm F6.3–9 IS USM
- Focal length: 800mm
- Aperture: f/10
- Shutter speed: 1/2500 second
- ISO: 3200
- Exposure compensation: +2
- Support: Beanbag on deck rail
What worked here
- Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec is the difference between a crisp hop and a blur.
- Exposure compensation: +2 helped keep the snow white instead of gray.
- Beanbag support: steady enough for long focal length work, and quick to reposition when the bird moved.
Closing
This is exactly the kind of backyard moment I love, simple, quick, and easy to overlook if I’m not paying attention. The snow made the scene clean, and the White-throated Sparrow brought the attitude.
If you’re seeing these in your yard right now, watch the ground under your feeders and the edges where snow gets thin. That’s where the action usually starts.