Bird A1. This longspur was initially thought to be the McCown's on the morning of 11/5/04 at "Mt. Trashmore" at around 10:30a. At least 8 birders were present and looking at this bird when I arrived. It was definitely paler than the more numerous Lapland Longspurs in the area. Apparently, no one heard this particular bird in flight until later, when it sounded like a Chestnut-collared Longspur. Although I saw it fly, I was not able to focus on the spread tail. Note the blurry breast streaking, which is apparently unlike McCown's Longspur.

Bird A2, 11/5/04. I was shooting at a long distance under partly cloudy skies and the images are not tack-sharp. These first two shots give a good idea of the bird's bill size. The McCown's bill is noted to be distinctly larger than the Chestnut-collared's. There is some pink on this bird's bill, but it appears to be mostly on the lower bill.

Assessing other features, this bird seems to have a short primary extension, the primary feathers that extend beyond the longest secondaries. 2 or 3 dark primary tips, edged with white, appear to extend beyond the tertial feathers. Or, is there a secondary feather and 1 or 2 primaries? In any case, the primary extension appears too short for McCown's Longspur.

Bird A3, 11/5/04. The auricular outline is not strong but it is obvious, also not great for McCown's. The streaking on the flanks of the breast is vague, not contrasting; the streaking on the back is strong. No rufescent colors were obvious in any of the visible feather tracts. The nape seemed grayish.

Bird B1. Later in the morning of 11/5/04, we located this bird, which most everyone felt comfortable calling a Chestnut-collared Longspur. I do feel that this is a different bird than the above, because it often showed a gray feather, high on its right flank. It's not visible in this shot, but I've included a shot that does, below.

The nape appears grayish and the primary extension looks identical to the above bird. The contrasty back streaks, likewise, appear the same, as does the supercillium. The bill structure and color look the same, too.

Bird B2, 11/5/04. We heard the flight call of this bird and felt comfortable with calling it a Chestnut-collared Longspur. Unfortunately, this is not a spread uppertail view. The blurry breast streaking appears similar to that on Bird A.

Bird B3. This out-of-focus shot of the same bird shows the gray feather (-base?) that I mentioned, apparently an upper flank feather that showed when the wing drooped. I never saw this on the right side of Bird A, however, I did not see the wing droop like this.

Everyone who has responded agrees that birds A and B are Chestnut-collared Longspurs.

Bird C. I photographed this bird on 11/3/04 and felt that it was a Chestnut-collared Longspur at the time, and still think that it was.

Many of the features noted above appear the same. This could have been one of the individuals seen on 11/5/04, or a different bird.

I think birds A, B, and C are 1st winter female Chestnut-collared Longspurs. I welcome all thoughts to the contrary and any other discussion. Send your thoughts to me or the East Bay Birds List.

Bird D. This is a Lapland Longspur photographed on 11/5/04. There were at least five different Lapland Longspurs at this spot at the time.

Bird E. This Lapland Longspur was also photographed on 11/5/04. The strongly outlined auricular patch, rufous greater coverts and outer tertial edging, and buffy base color point to a winter plumage Lapland Longspur. The lack of any rufous on the nape indicates that his is probably a female.

Bird F. This Lapland Longspur was photographed on 11/3/04. The outline around the auricular patch (ear coverts) is not bold and the greater coverts and secondaries show dull rufous coloration. I'd guess that this was a 1st winter.

Bird G. This Lapland Longspur has a chestnut nape and may be most likely a 1st winter male. The strongly contrasting facial markings also support this gender assessment. It was photographed on 11/3/04. Note the comparatively long primary extension on the Lapland Longspur compared to the Chestnut-collared; four primaries can be seen projecting beyond the longest secondaries and tertials.

Bird H. Also photographed on 11/3/04, brightly marked Lapland Longspur could be an adult female. The darker plumage and markings may indicate female, and the lack of chestnut on the nape and denser black on the upper breast may indicate a female. It is about as boldly marked than the above bird and more contrasting in marks that the bird previous to that.

This is a Clay-colored Sparrow found by Al DeMartini on 10/29/04 at the Radio Road dog park in Redwood Shores, San Mateo County, CA. Another was subsequently found by Ron Thorn at Coyote Point on 11/8/04.

A Harris's Sparrow was found by Ron Thorn on 10/25/04 at the Coyote Point Museum, San Mateo, CA. No photos... yet.

A Lark Bunting has been present at Bayfront Park, Menlo Park, San Mateo County, CA, since 10/4/04.

On 10/21/04 also at Bayfront Park, a White-throated Sparrow was found by Rich Ferrick, who also found the Lark Bunting.

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