On Mar 15, 2019, at 10:31 PM, David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Can we stop chattering about possible Smith's Longspurs until something
resembling a Smith's Longspur actually shows up. The unnamed birds in the
photos taken by Ed McVicker are all Horned Larks. The longspur looks like a
Chestnut-collared, calls like a Chestnut-collared and has the tail pattern of
a Chestnut-collared...making it a Chestnut-collared Longspur. I feel for some
of the less experienced birders in this forum who might be trying to sort the
wheat from the considerable chaff surrounding the Blueberry Lane longspur.
There are plenty of photos of the this longspur, starting with the very good
ones taken by Rachel Friese. What can be seen in the photos and all of the
additional details provided by the many folks who have actually seen the bird
all point to the reported species. It's always good to explore all
possibilities and make sure nothing is being missed, but we've wandered into
the land of wishful thinking at this point. The reported details and photos
are more than sufficient to settle any debate about this longspur. Finally,
there is nothing odd or out of the ordinary about the appearance of the
Horned Larks in Ed's photos.
Dave Irons
Beaverton, OR
