Patience Pays Off

Oct 7 2013. Vanier Park, Vancouver B.C. Light rain and overcast.

Manicured Vanier Park, is home among other things to the Planetarium, Bard on the Beach Festival and family picnics. It is also the home to a myriad of bird species. The park has numerous types of habitat. It is close to the ocean, features expansive manicured lawns and ornamental trees. To the East the park butts up to the Burrard Bridge. Among the trees, a remnant of a long lost stream bed can be seen, a mix of Alder and various shrubs share the space with a BMX track, joggers, dog walkers and the homeless.
Bushtits, Steller's Jay, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees and my quarry, the White-throated Sparrow were most apparent. Somehow the birds eke out an existence in this urban jungle, their song drowned out by the passing traffic from the Burrard Bridge.
I had spent an hour looking for three White-throated Sparrows that had been reported yesterday on vanbcbirds. I could hear the call Tseep, Tseep but I couldn't see the sparrows. Another frustrating 30 minutes passed before I finally spotted two birds which I thought were Song Sparrows but turned out to be White-throated Sparrows feeding in the undergrowth. Finally my patience was rewarded with some  shots when the birds came to check out my phishing.

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

A brief glimpse (above and below) as the sparrow came out from the undergrowth.
 It had been feeding on blackberries. One of the most secretive subjects I have photographed. Still looking for the definitive shot.