The Bachman's Sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis) is one of the very few species of birds that is an endemic to the United States. It occurs only in pine forests of the southeastern U.S. While never considered common, it's song is often characteristically heard in May and June in the correct habitat. The bird at left was photographed near Venus, Okeechobee Co., Florida in April, 1996, with a hand-held Canon T-90 and a FD 400 mm F 4.5 lens with a 1.4X extender on Fuji Sensia 100. The camera and lens were on a BushHawk shoulder mount. The bird below was a digital capture in Jasper Co., Texas in May 2003 with a Canon EOS 10D and 600 mm f4 IS lens and 1.4 X extender. The lower bird is perched on a piece of burned stump showing how readily the species utilizes areas after a fire burns out the brush and opens up a grassland component under the long leaf pine canopy. The Texas bird is more reddish overall than the Florida bird which is typical of this species.


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The Bachman's Sparrow in the next 2 images was in Jasper Co., Texas, in March, 2008. These 2 shots were taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mark III and EF 600mm F/4 l IS lens and 2X extender.

The Bachman's Sparrows in the next 4 images on the left were in Jasper Co., Texas, in June, 2008. These images were taken with the same photo equipment described just above.