I took a look at Alan's photos on Facebook and I think these are stray
"confinis" (intermontane) migrants based on the grayish ground color on the
back, not the "affinis" birds that nest west of the Cascades and have been
proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
This fits with the pattern from last year, when some early migrants were noted
during March in Portland and north of Corvallis, but photos indicated that
these were strays from east of the Cascades.
Local nesting "affinis" birds do start to show up around the end of March so
it's good to start watching for color-banded Vesper Sparrows. However in recent
years, the first arrivals detected have been on known nesting sites.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
