[va-bird] Re: Julie Metz Wetlands Bank - Prince William County
- From: Paula Sullivan <paula.sullivan2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: William S.Cross <KESTREL43@xxxxxxx>, VA-Bird <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 17:12:27 -0500
On Dec 16, 2003, at 3:36 PM, KESTREL43@xxxxxxx wrote:
After a few minutes I concluded that the best fit was a Clay Colored
Sparrow.
I believe you saw the bird Sharon Lynn and I saw on Dec. 1, Bill.
Here's the relevant excerpt from my post to VA BIRD on that day,
"...and then a bird, almost certainly a Clay-colored Sparrow, made a
brief appearance. The Clay-colored was feeding on the ground at the
edge of the path, and although I wasn't able to see the rear of the
bird well, the view of the head and breast in my scope was pretty
convincing. Sharon and I were both struck by its very small size, very
pale supercilium and malar, and unmarked breast. I hope someone else
can get out there to confirm this sighting."
Over the next two days, three other birders told me they had brief
glimpses of what could have been a Clay-colored Sparrow at Metz, but
their views were not adequate for a confident ID. Another birder
suggested that the bird we saw might be a leucistic bird. A leucistic
Chipping Sparrow, perhaps? That's the only sparrow with a similar
plumage pattern and size, but my money is still on Clay-colored
Sparrow.
Again, I hope birders will keep their eyes peeled. The bird we saw on
Dec. 1 was on the trail paralleling the Neabsco Rd., west of the Julie
Metz monument, and your bird was on the east side, but our sightings
were not far apart.
Paula Sullivan
Alexandria, VA
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