I was outside the other day, hoping that “my” Northern Flicker would stop by and hang out for awhile, when I noticed some leaves on the outskirts of the lawn being tossed about. My first thought was that it was a Towhee or a Thrasher, since they love to forage in the leaf litter, but when I zoomed in with my lens it seemed more like some sort of Thrush. It wasn’t tell I downloaded the pictures and used my “Picture Bird’ app that I discovered it was a Fox Sparrow – which is a first for me!

This guy (or gal) is so well camouflaged! He is hard to see when he is mostly buried under the leaves, or when he’s busy tossing them about. I feel like the pictures below are the “Where is Waldo?” of the bird world!

Don’t you just love his rich markings!

After a bit, he flew to a tangle of twig like branches farther out in the yard, but it gave a clearer view of him.

Also, can I just say that I am loving my mirrorless camera body (Canon R7) and lens (100-500mm RF). Although distance and cropping make the photo have some fuzziness, this combo really does a nice job focusing. If you enjoy wildlife photography and are in the market for some camera equipment, I’d wholeheartedly recommend these!