[Tweeters] Vesper Sparrow (not) in Burien

[Tom Benedict]

Hi Dave,

I hadn’t seen a photo of a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco earlier, but now that I have I think it’s very likely that’s what it was. Especially given the habitat. The initial marking that I was focused on was the “spot” in the middle of the breast, which isn’t anything I’ve seen in the online DEJU photos I’ve browsed. Also, the eye-ring was not as pronounced as the descriptions I’ve read for Vesper Sparrow either.

I’m happy to call this a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco.

Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA


> On Jul 5, 2022, at 11:51, Dave Slager <dave.slager at gmail.com> wrote:

> 

> Tom,

> 

> Have you considered whether it is a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco?

> 

> Dave Slager

> Seattle, WA

> 

> On Tue, Jul 5, 2022 at 11:26 AM Steve Loitz <steveloitz at gmail.com> wrote:

>> 

>> That's quite unusual. There are breeding pairs of VESPs near the south end of Puget Sound. 15 or so years ago, I heard, then saw, a VESP on Chamber's Bay golf course.

>> 

>> Steve Loitz

>> Ellensburg WA

>> 

>> On Tue, Jul 5, 2022 at 10:53 AM Tom Benedict <benedict.t at comcast.net> wrote:

>>> 

>>> We had a visit from a Vesper Sparrow at our feeder this morning. It was accompanied by a Song Sparrow, so I was able to compare closely. The Vesper was much lighter and slimmer and had the white outer tail feathers.

>>> 

>>> Birdweb.org says that Vespers are ‘rare’ in the Puget Trough. I wonder what brought this one into the Burien area today?

>>> 

>>> Tom Benedict

>>> Seahurst, WA

>>> 

>> 

>> --

>> Steve Loitz

>> Ellensburg, WA

>> steveloitz at gmail.com

>>