ML645917943

Observation details

Finally managed to confirm the ammospiza as Leconte’s! Took 2 days of effort, I finally managed to get a good photo to confirm Leconte’s. In flight, it was clearly an ammospiza. It would flush only when practically underfoot, would then fly only a short distance and set down again (invisible even in the shortest grass). It would then run away from the landing site and would appear in flight again far away from where it landed. Plumage fit ammospiza as well with orange face, spiky tail, white streaks on back and buff washed flanks with streaks. All the photos I took the day before and in the morning were not diagnostic as the nape, face, nor crown could be seen. Finally managed a photo showing the face and nape today. I had been growing increasingly confident that the bird was a Nelson’s since I could never make out a white crown stripe and the nape appeared gray in all the photos I had. The previous day’s and morning’s bird had been in the long ungrazed grass field in the back. Oddly, this bird was in the grazed field closer to the house. I could easily have been dealing with multiple birds.