C B Images

Photography by Chris Bates

House Sparrow

Spring Shake Up House Sparrow fluffy bird
House Sparrow fluffing up his feathers: ISO 200, 320mm, f/5.6, 1/1500

Sitting on the Fence side profile house sparrow
Sitting on the Fence: ISO 200, 320mm, f/5.6, 1/1500

Spring feels like it is finally here. The birds are out playing and enjoying the new foliage.

The above shots are of the same male house sparrow. Enjoying the sun while sitting on our fence.


Mating Dance 1: ISO 200, 200mm, F/4, 1/1000



Mating Dance 2: ISO 200, 200mm, f/4, 1/1000

House Sparrows love our neighbourhood. They love the trees and the food everyone leaves out for them.

Watching them over the years you get used to their quirky behaviour. Once and awhile you will notice a male showing off to a female by keeping his chest low, wings down, and tail up going into some sort of dance that resembles an epileptic seizure. When I see it, I tell my wife the sparrows are "chicken dancing."

The camera doesn't quite capture it. I will have to carry my little Kodak Playsport around with me more often to try to capture video.

Fall Sunset House Sparrow Raspberry
Warm Sunset: ISO 320, 170mm, f/5.6, 1/250

Some visitors did not like my last post. It was sad but that is how nature works. I had no hand in but just document what I see.

This is not a winter image but needed to show that with the bad comes good.

This is a lone house sparrow visting our backyard and the remaining raspberries and enjoying the warmth of a fall sunset.

House Sparrow, Rose Bush, Autumn, Fall, Fence, Colour
House Sparrow on the Fence: ISO 320, 240mm, f/4.5, 1/2000

My previous post I showed you the rose leaves on the ground. This post I will show you the ones still remaining on the bush.

It has been unseasonably warm here and the animals in our neighbourhood are taking full advantage of this. The house sparrows were playing in our backyard this morning paying me no attention.

What's for Supper?


Purple Finch: ISO 400, 400mm, f/8, 1/250


House Sparrow: ISO 400, 320mm, f/8, 1/180

The snow is gone from the yard. There is still some patches of snow in the region but the weather is finally warming again. The May Long Weekend is fast approaching and we should be able to say goodbye to winter for awhile.

The bird activity in the backyard is still pretty busy. Been watching the crows carry nest building materials to the neighbours pine tree. The sparrows and finches are busy feeding on whatever they can find.

Two nights ago I took the camera out to watch the House Sparrows forage for food on the ground. From the image above it looks like they are finding little bugs to eat. As the temperature at the time was in the mid teens the bugs were probably coming out of hiding to warm up.

As I was calling it a night I headed back to the house and spotted some Purple Finches high in the Mountain Ash tree feeding.

I wasn't sure the shots I took would turn out as I had the heavy zoom on and had to point it upwards through tree branches without a tripod. So I was fearful of blurry out of focus shots. I managed to get a few good images.

The top picture shows that the trees are finally starting to leaf. In a couple of weeks it will be nearly impossible to get this shot as I would have to shoot through leaves and branches.

It's May!


Sapsucker: ISO 400, 160mm, f/8, 1/350


Chickadee: ISO 400, 80mm, f/8, 1/500



Chickadee: ISO 400, 190mm, f/8, 1/250


House Sparrow: ISO 200, 250mm, f/8, 1/500

As mentioned in my previous post the birds are in abundance right now. They love playing and singing in our backyard. The finches and sparrows appear to be eating the flower buds on our Ornamental Flowering Plum and Japanese Cherry (I believe this is what the two shrubs are).

The top image is a Sapsucker/Woodpecker. I have yet to determine if it is a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker or a Red Naped Sapsucker. My guess is the Yellow Bellied variety as it does not appear to have the big red patch at the back of his neck. Both varieties are known to dwell in our area. Angela and I believe this is the same guy who pounds on the electrical pole outside our bedroom window in the early morning.

When I was composing the shot of the Sapsucker the chickadee flew right in front of me as if to see what I was doing. Maybe he was jealous as I was not taking his photo like I was the previous evenings. He flew so close that he got his wish and he quickly became the object of my affection.

The last picture is a female house sparrow on our Japanese Cherry. These are the most abundant birds that live and play in the backyard. She came out while I was cooking supper on the barbeque.

All these shots were taken today.

Missing the Sun


It’s November and I am really missing the warmth of the summer sun.

These House Sparrows were caught this summer taking a break on the neighbour’s shed catching the morning rays.

A Bird in Hand

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