Hi John and all

Sounds like a "Streaked" Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata), usually found along the coast from BC south to Oregon. Loss of habitat has generally limited the bird to Ocean Shores in Washington.

Good Birding,

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
mail to bell asoc at isomedia dot com
----- Original Message -----
From: johntubbs at comcast.net
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 5:41 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] HORNED LARK - Marymoor Park


Hi everyone,



I made a brief stop this afternoon at the Marymoor dirt piles to look for the American Tree Sparrow - unsuccessfully. In keeping with that part of the park's reputation, there were a lot of sparrows moving around, and I got very nice looks at a White-throated Sparrow (plus Lincoln's, White-crowned, Golden-crowned and Song). The most interesting bird, however, was a HORNED LARK (HOLA) that was picking grit immediately to the north of the dirt piles. I wasn't initially 100% sure that it was a HOLA because it definitely did not look like the prototypical adult bird of the species. Specifically, it lacked any yellow wash on the throat, had some streaking on the belly (rather than white), was distinctly striped and marked on the back versus the faint/flat typical plumage, and lacked the "horns". The size, posture, bill and head markings fit HOLA, however. I sent the images to Michael Hobbs who confirmed HOLA. Neither Michael or I are well-versed in variations of HOLA plumage, however it may be a hatch-year bird and possibly of the arctic subspecies, which apparently lacks the yellow wash. A link to the first of two passable images I took of the bird follows (click Next to see the second one) - http://www.tubbsphoto.com/-/tubbsphoto/detail.asp?photoID=9328570&cat=38987. Hopefully one of the experts monitoring the list will be able to provide some info on this species' plumage variations.



John Tubbs

Snoqualmie, WA

johntubbs at comcast.net

www.tubbsphoto.com








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