Palm Warbler (yellow sub-species)
I got to the trail at 8:30, and was hoping to get in a couple of hours of birding before the clouds and rain moved into the area. It was only 42 degrees, and I was dressed for the temperature, but not for the wind chill. Intermittent low clouds kept the valley in shadows, but the contrast to the sunlit and fall-colored mountains made for a beautiful hike. I saw 30 species this morning, but it was the sparrows that stole the show.
In addition to seeing a late-staying female Indigo Bunting, a few Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, and a Red-tailed Hawk that was being harassed by a crow, I saw 9 of the 13 species of sparrows recorded on the trail. That is the most sparrow species seen on one hike there for me.
Palm Warbler (yellow sub-species)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
I saw the first of three juvenile White-crowned Sparrows along the downstream trail, another in Yellow Bird Thicket on Glenthorne Loop, and the third taking a bath in the Rockfish river on my return to the kiosk. The crown stripe on the third one was so golden that I had to check my reference books to make sure it was not a western Golden-crowned Sparrow.
juvenile White-crowned Sparrow
juvenile White-crowned Sparrow
juvenile White-crowned Sparrow
juvenile White-crowned Sparrow
juvenile White-crowned Sparrow
I saw a Swamp Sparrow and several Lincoln's Sparrows. One of the Lincoln's Sparrows had a bi-colored bill - like a Swamp Sparrow. Strange, last Sunday I saw a Swamp Sparrow that did not have a bi-colored bill. I wonder if some of these may be hybrids, or if bill color is not that reliable of a field mark for these two species??
Swamp Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Also saw a couple of Savannah Sparrows, and a sparrow that was most likely a Vesper Sparrow - it could have been another Savannah Sparrow, but I cannot see any yellow in its eye-brow, and its undertail was completely white.
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow