Sprague's Pipit?

[Patsy Mercer]

Could I have possibly seen a Sprague's Pipit at VCDB today? I didn't see a Sprague's listed in the E-Bird listing. It seemed lighter than an American Pipit.

[gail]

It's possible, but not probable. There are several of the "experts" in the group that bird their daily. If there's a Sprague's, they'll find it and we'll all hear about it.

[Patsy Mercer]

Thanks Gail. We saw the bird in a grassy meadow-type area on the left (west) just beyond the equipment. Only the head was visible. The crown was dark and striped and it seemed light around the eyes. The beak was sharp, definitely not a sparrow type! We only had glimpses because it would only raise its head intermittantly. Plus we were mesmerized by an juv. northern harrier preening on the ground not far from us on the east side of the road. We must have looked like fans at a tennis match. I did notice that others have recently seen an American Pipit, but the illustration in Nat'l Geo. looked too dark for this bird. Having access to this site is just GREAT! Thank you again. Patsy

[Hookbilledkite]

Were you able to see anything else on the bird besides the head and bill? Have you considered Eastern Meadowlark?

[Bill Jones]

I drove around a bit atfer Birding At The Beds broke up earlier this month and there was a group of about ten or so Meadowlarks in that area. They would generally stay down in the grass and only occasionally heads would pop here and there. I did manage to get a couple of clear views.

Bill