ML35658651

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

With horned lark flock along the Valley Rd. You'll need to pay the $10 entrance fee to the Tribal Park and be prepared to drive a long loop on a dirt road and unfortunately this bird is on the one-way part of the loop. Had I known at the time how rare this bird was in Arizona I would have spent a little more time trying to document it. According to Mark Stevenson, this would be the third state record and the first since 1967. As it was, my boyfriend and I were in a hurry to reach Artist Point before the sun went down and I was lucky to get a single photo of the bird. At one point when the flock flew I was confident there were multiple birds but given the rarity of the species I'm only reporting one. However, there may be other Rosy-Finches in the flock. I expect the flock will stay in the area given the snow and nearby spring for water, and if you find the larks there's a good chance you'll see the Rosy-finch(es). The eBird point is plotted exactly where I saw the birds. I first spotted the bird through binoculars when the flock of Horned Larks was in flight, and noticed a smaller, dark-bodied bird undulating among the larks. Expecting it to be a male Chestnut-collared Longspur, I was totally surprised when I noted the breast and underparts were not black, but a rich warm brown color, with a striking and lovely pink tinge to the belly. I followed the bird in flight until it landed and I had a few brief binocular views of the bird as it was actively foraging on the ground between clumps of grass. I was able to note the pink in the wings and the light gray color on the head offset by black around the base of the bill. The bill was yellow and conical. (Given how striking the pink belly was in flight and the amount of black around the bill I think the bird was probably an adult male but I'm not sure). At the time I thought it was the interior subspecies of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch but my photo seems to show a very gray face so I am somewhat confused on this point. Having no idea which Rosy-Finch to expect here, I thought about the possibility of Brown-capped and Black Rosy-Finches at the time. However, the sharp gray cap rules out the former and I believe the overall brown color rules out the latter.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

ISO

160

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

540 pixels x 365 pixels

Original file size

229.42 KB