Le Conte's Sparrow

A birding buddy of mine and I have been on the hunt for a Le Conte's Sparrow for the last couple of years. They are uncommon in our county and it is said they are very hard to see as they rarely flush, preferring instead to run away under the vegetation. My buddy finally found one recently and we went back yesterday in good light and great conditions. I couldn't be more thrilled to finally have gotten high resolution, unobstructed photos of this beautiful species.

Excellently done! It really is a beautiful little birdie.

Superb images.

greyswan wrote in post #18377783
Excellently done! It really is a beautiful little birdie.

Will in Tejas wrote in post #18377816
Superb images.

Thank you both for taking the time to comment. Le Conte's, I've come to learn, is the smallest sparrow in N. America (as an aside, if memory serves, Harris's are the largest). And they are indeed beautiful. I think sparrows, in general, get a bad rap, first for being hard to identify at times and, second, because of the House Sparrow. But they are worth seeking out, IMO.

I've always liked the sparrows - even the 'little brown jobs'

greyswan wrote in post #18378580
I've always liked the sparrows - even the 'little brown jobs'

Yeah, but they're all little brown jobs!

Perseverance equals success! Super shots, Al. And another off the ol' bucket list!!

ardeekay wrote in post #18380742
Perseverance equals success! Super shots, Al. And another off the ol' bucket list!!

Thank you, Rog. I give my birding friend a lot of credit for her determination to find one. We saw one first thing in the morning, but it had no tail feathers whatsoever and we were shooting into the sun. So we returned in the afternoon and found this individual who was much more photogenic.

As said, great photos and glad you've achieved your aim.

I tended to ignore our sparrows given their somewhat drab appearance and abundance (less so nowadays) but in more recent years I've come to love them and realised there is quite a difference in markings between the different types.

We get quite a gang on the feeders and there's some real characters amongst them. Particularly appealing when you have a few youngsters with them who haven't mastered landing on the perches to the feeders etc! I spend ages sometimes just watching them.

Chris L F wrote in post #18381318
As said, great photos and glad you've achieved your aim.

I tended to ignore our sparrows given their somewhat drab appearance and abundance (less so nowadays) but in more recent years I've come to love them and realised there is quite a difference in markings between the different types.

We get quite a gang on the feeders and there's some real characters amongst them. Particularly appealing when you have a few youngsters with them who haven't mastered landing on the perches to the feeders etc! I spend ages sometimes just watching them.

Thank you for your comments, Chris. One might say there are no uninteresting birds, only uninterested people.

Lovely shots, Al! It's always great when you get to spot a rarity or a lifer!

Scrumhalf wrote in post #18381464
Lovely shots, Al! It's always great when you get to spot a rarity or a lifer!

Thank you for commenting, Sam. Yes, it was a lifer for me and I'm still thrilled with my success.

Oooh-la-la! What sweet shots of a sweet bird that I have never heard of before! Thanks for the continued education Al!

SJC from VT wrote in post #18382227
Oooh-la-la! What sweet shots of a sweet bird that I have never heard of before! Thanks for the continued education Al!

You're welcome, Sandy; I'm glad you enjoyed the photos and took the time to comment.

Outstanding work!! I never thought they existed until now. Hope they don't do like the common one found here does.