Hulya Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) Saw this bird a few days ago north of Morro Bay Ca along the shoreline in a cove. The tail was held erect like a wren. Would most appreciate your help. Edited January 25, 2020 by Hulya Spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totah Sam Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 It's definitely a sparrow. I'd say Song Sparrow but I'll let the experts identify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvoryBillHope Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Song Sparrow is correct. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor L. Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Well it’s not a Purple Finch @Melierax @Sean C @Mr. Gull Sabine 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totah Sam Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 5 hours ago, Trevor L. said: Well it’s not a Purple Finch @Melierax @Sean C @Mr. Gull Sabine O.o Purple Finches are the bane of my existence. 70 miles to the north (Durango, Co) they have so many purple finches you can't shake a stick without hitting one. Down here in NW New Mexico? Nothing. I've been looking for YEARS. >=( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulya Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 Ok. I feel so silly ? ? I guess the SOSP down here in CA look very different than in WA @Trevor L. @IvoryBillHope @Totah Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 22 minutes ago, Hulya said: Ok. I feel so silly ? ? I guess the SOSP down here in CA look very different than in WA @Trevor L. @IvoryBillHope @Totah Sam Song Sparrows have a great deal geographic variation. This bird you've shared a picture of from southern California looks much paler and rustier than the Song Sparrows we have here in the Bay Area, which are quite dark. Song Sparrows in the deserts of the southwest are even more rusty than this. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 28 minutes ago, AlexHenry said: Song Sparrows have a great deal geographic variation. It's not just geographic variation - even in the same small area they can vary tremendously (a bit like the Herrings mentioned the other day), all just to confuse the beginners even more. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 On 1/25/2020 at 1:42 PM, Totah Sam said: O.o Purple Finches are the bane of my existence. 70 miles to the north (Durango, Co) they have so many purple finches you can't shake a stick without hitting one. Down here in NW New Mexico? Nothing. I've been looking for YEARS. >=( Southwest Colorado does NOT have Purple Finches - the species is rare everywhere in the state, but better known from the eastern border than anywhere. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 According to eBird, House Finches are a dime a dozen in SW Colorado. Maybe those are being mistaken for Purples. Just a stray thought. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 3 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said: According to eBird, House Finches are a dime a dozen in SW Colorado. Maybe those are being mistaken for Purples. Just a stray thought. Well, there's your problem, Sam. You'd see lots of Purple Finches if you couldn't tell them from House Finches. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirVive Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 On 1/25/2020 at 11:02 AM, Hulya said: Ok. I feel so silly ? ? I guess the SOSP down here in CA look very different than in WA @Trevor L. @IvoryBillHope @Totah Sam Definitely much different than the common SOSP from here SW WA. Our's seldom have even a hint of rusty/redish to them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totah Sam Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 About a year ago someone from Durango posted pics of purple finches and was verified by people on here. I don't know why everyone is up in arms about this. I merely stated what has been posted here previously. I'm sorry if I've ruffled some feathers. I'll stick to lurking from here on out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Totah Sam said: About a year ago someone from Durango posted pics of purple finches and was verified by people on here. I don't know why everyone is up in arms about this. I merely stated what has been posted here previously. I'm sorry if I've ruffled some feathers. I'll stick to lurking from here on out. Sorry if some of us were up in arms - definitely not a reason that you should stop posting though. I think some people were just trying to correct your statement about the prevalence of Purple Finches in Durango, because even if there have been one or two confirmed there, the species still remains very rare anywhere in Colorado. Any post is valuable, so don’t stop posting! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Totah Sam said: About a year ago someone from Durango posted pics of purple finches and was verified by people on here. I don't know why everyone is up in arms about this. I merely stated what has been posted here previously. I'm sorry if I've ruffled some feathers. I'll stick to lurking from here on out. Stick around, please. Please don't regard one discussion as indicative of other discussions, or of the site as a whole. I haven't seen it here, but I've been on sports and technology sites where I went at it tooth and nail with a poster in one discussion and had the same guy's back in a different one, alternating between fully supporting one position and telling him he was a total idiot for another stance, all within five minutes. It's just the Internet; don't let it get you. Edited January 29, 2020 by Charlie Spencer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 3 hours ago, Totah Sam said: I'll stick to lurking from here on out. Hope you don't. I only visit a few forums on a regular basis, being an old fogie, but this is probably the best I have found for mutual respect. Please keep posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor L. Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I should probably say that my Purple Finch thing was 100% a joke. It was a reference to some post I saw earlier where someone thought a Song Sparrow was a Purple Finch and stuck with it, even when multiple people told her she was wrong. I should have stated it was a joke. If I’ve caused any confusion, I apologize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirVive Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 On 1/26/2020 at 5:54 PM, Jerry Friedman said: Well, there's your problem, Sam. You'd see lots of Purple Finches if you couldn't tell them from House Finches. @Totah Sam Ditto to all of the above. ... and the way I took it @Jerry Friedman was paying you a compliment in disguise! Only noobs would be logging purples right and left where there weren't any - hence your coming up empty. ☺️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 On 1/29/2020 at 11:47 PM, SirVive said: @Totah Sam Ditto to all of the above. ... and the way I took it @Jerry Friedman was paying you a compliment in disguise! Only noobs would be logging purples right and left where there weren't any - hence your coming up empty. ☺️ Quite right. And Sam, I enjoy your posts too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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