Bill,
I am no expert on how often Cassin's Vireos are seen in the Lubbock area
(my Lubbock checklist is in the car), but there were some strong winds (I
was looking at 1000m up) pushing from the south and west. For awhile they
even converged along a line that included Lubbock. I don't see any reason
why it couldn't be a migrant pushed off track. These wind patterns were
consistent from 10m to 1000m up and then predominantly came from a westerly
direction at 1500m and up from Tuesday night until the early hours of
today.
Jennifer
On Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 8:10 PM, WILLIAM WENTHE <wwenthe@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Today, April 18, a *Lincoln's Sparrow*—this time, thankfully, alive and
well—in my backyard.
Also today, I got a good long look at a *vireo* outside my window, with
binoculars. It had the spectacles and double wing bar pattern of the
Plumbeous/Casssin's/Blue-headed kind. It was certainly not a
Blue-headed, being too uniform and drab. But of a distinctly olive-yellow
cast. Noticeable on this one—and that is, I noted it distinctly, before
referring to any guidebook—were the greenish edges on the secondaries,
which Sibley points out. Almost yellow in the morning sunlight. So what
is the likelihood that this could be a *Cassin's* vireo—given that it
sure looked like one? The books that I checked show their range to be
significantly west of here; with one book showing them as "rare."
And a *Clay-colored sparrow* yesterday. All these are in Tech Terrace.
Along with many flocks of* chipping sparrow*s.
Also today, three *bobwhite* on FM 1300, near Wolforth. All these are
casual things I've noticed, not birding but just moving about.
Bill Wenthe
