Chasing a rare longspur

From time to time a rare bird visits Thurston County. After learning of the sighting, serious birders generally commit to chase this initial observation, hoping to add another rare bird to their species list. This is my story of one such chase. 

Late last Friday afternoon, John Lynch and Brandon Wheeler, walking the loop trail at Mima Mounds Natural Area, encountered a rare bird. Based on initial observations, including white outer tail feather typical of longspurs, they tentatively identified it as a chestnut-collared longspur. John posted the observation in an eBird report and soon chases were being organized. 

To most of us, longspurs look like sparrows. In their winter plumage they are grayish with brownish stripes and, in contrast to sparrows, have short stubby bills and white outer tail feathers. The inner tail feathers, often hidden, are a contrasting black. They are in a different avian family than sparrows and that family contains only four species. Checking them out in your bird book might be helpful. 

A male chestnut-collarded longspur.

Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT

The most common longspur is the Lapland longspur. In winter, small flocks of them are regularly seen in Eastern Washington. The other three species winter on the southern Great Plains, and thus are “rare birds” here. Chestnut-collared longspur is named for the colorful collar of the males’ breeding plumage. The other two species are Smith’s longspur and think-billed longspur (formerly McCown’s longspur). Their common name, incidentally, comes from their having a long claw at the back of each foot.  

They frequent grasslands in Central North America and seldom venture to either the Atlantic or Pacific coasts. Thus, none of the longspur species occurs regularly in Thurston County, or anywhere else in Western Washington. 

Friday night, my birding friend, Bill Tweit, emailed me about the longspur sighting and asked if I wanted to join him and others on Saturday to look for the bird. Thus, at 7:45 a.m., I found myself in the Mima Mounds parking lot, joining six other cars — it seemed that we were not the only ones committing to the chase. The weather was calm and overcast, but there was none of the ground fog we sometimes have in October.  

The Mima Mounds trail system begins with pavement, but soon there is a gravel loop trail to the south. The Friday report stated the bird was feeding along the gravel path on the western edge of the loop. Bill and I walked slowly along that western edge and, despite our caution, after about 10 minutes we flushed a bird. It flew past, giving good views, and we both saw a gray/brown sparrow-like bird with white outer tail feathers. 

Birders at Mima Mounds.

George Walter | The JOLT

Bill also recognized the bird’s vocalization (I heard nothing, but my 80-year-old ears are suspect) and immediately yelled, “that’s it!” Our target bird flew past another birder, and then landed near the trail some 100 yards away. The three of us slowly and quietly approached, and eventually located our quarry. In the meantime, Bill had alerted others by telephone and text, and soon there was a small group of dedicated birders watching this little longspur as it slowly hopped along the edge of the gravel path. 

And what does the bird getting all this attention look like? Here is a photo, taken by Bill Tweit. The clear consensus was that this was a first-year chestnut-collared longspur, A combination of bill color, length of wing feathers, face pattern and overall color ruled out the other three longspurs.

A chestunut-collarded longspur.

Courtesy of Bill Tweit

Many committed birders travel with long lens telescopes or cameras, because if/when you encounter a new or rare bird, you certainly want photo documentation.  Thus, I presume, there were many 100’s of photos of this little bird taken, with some of them posted on eBird. Perhaps a reader will add a photo or two in the comments section. 

Shortly after 9 a.m. the little bird flushed again, joining two others and flying out-of-sight far to the south. As more birders joined our chase, we gave them the bad news. For me, the chase was over and I headed home. Others remained, continuing their search, and were rewarded for their persistence. Shortly after 10 a.m., the little longspur returned to the same location on the western edge of the gravel loop trail.  

On Sunday, another group of chasers descended on Mima Mounds and were similarly rewarded; the longspur was again found along the same edge of the trail. Finally, one “latecomer” on Monday also located it, again in the same basic location. Such avian site fidelity is remarkable. 

What a wonderful adventure! I’m happy I responded to Bill’s invitation, not just because I clearly saw this rare bird but also because I had the chance to witness the rapid response a rare bird brings from the growing community of bird watchers (and photographers). 

Report on Liam

When Thurston’s Birds began in 2022, we were fortunate to find Liam Hutcheson, a 14-year-old with a great talent at photography. Liam is now 19 and off to college, enrolling this fall at Cal Poly Humbolt, located in Arcata, California. He is pursuing studies in wildlife management with a concentration in ornithology. Not surprisingly, he is becoming part of the birding community in Northern California, including getting out on the ocean to study seabirds. 

Despite his absence, Thurston’s Birds will still feature Liam’s photos because we have numerous photos he has taken of our local common birds. We may, from time to time, will also rely on photos from others. Anyone interested? 

George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com .