Spizella sparrow in Lafayette
Wed, 16 Jan 2002 13:37:39 PST
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
Yesterday I got a call from a lady who lives in Lafayette who has had a Spizella sparrow in her yard for the past 10 days. I won't yet use her name because I haven't yet asked her how she feels about it being public. The bird was seen yesterday by several birders but a conclusion was apparently never reached. I can certainly sympathize now that I have seen the bird. I showed up this morning knowing that Chipping Sparrow had been ruled out based on the lores and frankly I was suspecting a Clay-colored Sparrow. It may be or it may not; I've changed my mind about 38 times already.
Based on my immediate impression, this bird would have to be the dullest, least sharply marked Clay-colored Sparrow ever. Perhaps this is because I am so used to seeing birds in fall, but I am used to Clay-coloreds being buffy and "warm," with crisp demarcations. This bird was neither of those. I should mention now that the bird was in the shade the entire time and it is possible that it was "warmer" than it appeared.
The bird appeared to be an obvious Spizella. It was much smaller than adjacent White-crowned Sparrows and proportionately long-tailed. The bird appeared to have a median crown-stripe, often mentioned as diagnostic for Clay-colored, but in some views I thought I clearly saw it and in other views it seemed to disappear entirely. At one point the bird perched on a branch facing in my direction and looking down and I couldn't see the median stripe at all. When I did see it, I saw what I would say looked much like on bird 73c on plate 29 of Byers, Curson and Olsson's Sparrows and Buntings - in other words, thin. Several sources mention that Brewer's Sparrow is capable of having at least a hint of a median crown-stripe while that of Clay-colored can be indistinct. It is also mentioned somewhere that it may not be visible at all times on Clay-colored.
The rest of the crown was finely-streaked with black. The coarseness of this streaking is apparently helpful but hard for me to use with no comparisons. The supercilium was a very dull white behind the eye and seemed a bit blurry rather than sharply-defined. Above the eye the supercilium was a slightly warmer, vaguely buffy color, as was the loral area.
Though I could detect a faint eye-ring it was nowhere near as prominent or white as I would expect from Brewer's.
The cheek patch was the same vaguely buff color as the lores and above the eye. It was bordered by a contrasting post-ocular stripe and moustachial stripe but again they didn't appear quite as contrasty with the cheek patch as I would have expected.
The malar stripe was blackish (though not a jet black) with an off-white sub-moustachial area as well as throat and chin. The color of the sub-moustachial and the throat/chin seemed about even.
The nape and the sides of the neck were, of course, gray. If there was any streaking in these areas it appeared indistinct.
The underparts were a grayish-brown color though when the light got brighter it seemed a little "warmer". It was darker at the breast sides and flanks. This did contrast with the throat.
For now I would have to guess that this bird is a dull Clay-colored Sparrow. Duller than I am used to, but still not what I think of for Brewer's Sparrow. It is mentioned that some may be nearly impossible to distinguish in winter and though that may be taking it a bit too far this bird seemed more intermediate than I was expecting.
If anyone would like to comment further please do. I will also talk to the woman who found the bird and she if she would mind a couple of others dropping by at some point.
Steve Glover
Dublin
Varied Thrush in lower Redwood Regional
Park
Wed, 16 Jan 2002 17:21:29 -0800
From: Nick Newton
Around New Year, I saw a couple of Varied Thrushes from the trail that runs parallel and just up hill from Stream Trail, in lower Redwood Park, about 1 mile in from the main parking lot at Redwood Gate.
Nick Newton
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Still no Varied Thrush
Wed, 16 Jan 2002 17:52:05 -0800
From: Bob Hole
Unfortunately, the chest cold arrived this morning and I was only able to hit Dunn Trail in Redwood Regional Park [Oakland Hills] from 10 AM to noon.
I followed the trail through the redwoods area, until the "big loop" (where it swings through open country and you can see the trail across the valley). Unfortunately, I saw almost zilch birds. The parking lot on Skyline Blvd was the only thing that saved the day as a birding day. The only birds I saw were between the parking lot and Graham Trail. Along the trail beyond Graham junction there was literally nothing moving or calling (stiff breeze, cold temp, lots of dogs probably explain it).
I'll be doing little birding for a week or so with this cold, and I think I'm going to have to go to their breeding grounds for my Varied Thrush. Unless someone knows a place I can drive up, look out my windshield and see one. (That's how I got Tundra Swan last week after all).
Okay, now that you've stopped laughing - I wish you all a better birding week than I'll have. Or, as a friend says, it's time for all the indoor-birding stuff, like fixing notes, flipping through fieldguides, etc.
Bob
Robert Hole, Jr.
[Oh, my trip list included: Hermit Thrush, California Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Western Scrub-Jay, American Robin, Golden-crowned Sparrow.]
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