I twice went out to a grassland area looking for a Grasshopper Sparrow among the Savannah Sparrows. I didn't find one. I saw at least one sparrow without much streaking on the breast and flanks, but it had a pronounced light-colored malar stripe and its head and bill seemed too small for Grasshopper Sparrow. I came away with nice photos of a Savannah Sparrow though.

I also noticed, on my second outing, a small gull with a small black bill and a black spot behind its eye. It looked like a new bird to me but I wasn't sure since there were also Black Terns flying around, and they can look similar when they're not mostly black. Upon further review it turned out to be a Bonaparte's Gull, a new lifer!

These photos are © 2023 Phil Thompson, all rights reserved.

My "birds in review" collages can be found here.