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August 2008

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Subject:
From:
Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 5 Aug 2008 12:22:54 -0400
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        Many have weighed in on the Sandusky Co bird reported as a Sprague's
pipit without having seen it. Lest we all get carried away, let's
remember we have careful first-hand reports, and a records committee to
evaluate them. Bill Heck and Paul Gardner and I visited the site twice
the following day looking without success, and didn't see anyone else.
The rarebird site is down again, but I do recall the Cullens have
visited the spot.
        I did my best with hastily-prepared notes from a phone conversation to
pass along reported details, but of course they are hardly a substitute
for a complete report, and really shouldn't be picked apart. The
reporters' commendable intention was to get other observers to the site
to make their own observations, and perhaps to gather further
documentation such as a photo. What was described to me did not sound
like a young horned lark, but as I say it was necessarily a hurried affair.
        Subscribers to Birding magazine can look at an August 1997 article by
Paul Lehman (pp 333-4) for a good photo of a juvenal horned lark and a
discussion of Sprague's pipit as a look-alike. There are plenty of
photos of both on the Web, too, if you prefer them to field guide art.
For the latter, there's a good one in Mullarney et al.'s Birds of Europe
on p. 239. If you don't know both species well, judge for yourself how
confusible they are.
        Another Sprague's pipit record comes from Cleveland 31 Oct 1974
(Peterjohn 2001). A third was published in the Wheaton Club Bulletin as
seen by Irv Kassoy 2/6/72 in Ross Co. I had a look through eastern
records, where it has been accepted as far out as Massachusetts. In our
region, I looked for accepted records April-Oct, and found the following
east of South Dakota (MN, MI, OH, TN, ON, IL, KY): 11 in April, 17 in
May, 11 in June, 9 in July, 5 in August, 6 in September, and 22 in
October. So October has indeed been the most productive, though hardly
the only, month during this period with Sprague's records.
        Anyway, if you want to actually check this report out, it seems late
afternoon offers the best light at this site.
Best of luck,
Bill Whan
Columbus



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