ML108724711

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Adult toward the east end of the lower ball field. I first picked it up in flight as it headed away from me -- the combination of a plain brown back, long black tail, and moderately small size for a sparrow suggested this species, but when I checked the pepper tree where I thought it landed I couldn;t find it. Shortly thereafter, though, I saw it on the ground, feeding with a flock of House Finches on weed seeds near the edge of the lower ball fields at the foot of the slope. It was distant, but I was able to get good views and take a couple of identifiable photos (one of which, taken at about 70X and heavily cropped, is shown here). Surprisingly, the bird was an adult with a full black, diamond-shaped throat patch (the majority of late summer/early fall records in the Hansen Dam/Tujunga Wash area, where the species is nearly annual, are of HY birds).

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P900

ISO

400

Focal length

214 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/320 sec

Dimensions

640 pixels x 480 pixels

Original file size

130.87 KB