Lapland Longspur

About this time every year, a few Lapland Longspur stop over at Cape Spear. Most often I have seen them in the higher grounds, but this year this arctic breeder was all alone in the lower quadrant of the grounds.

 Typically when a brown bird of this size pops out of nowhere, the first thought is "Savannah Sparrow" as the park is often crawling with them. During September, another bird that comes to mind is an American Pipit, and there have been a lot of them at Cape Spear this year.

 Happy to eliminate the sparrow and pipit, I was pleased to see this perfect little Lapland Longspur close-by. The temp yesterday was not warm, and I really didn't want to hike up the hill where the wind was even more raw.

The birds that just appear are really the nicest kind of "finds." The window of opportunity to see this species at the Cape is small. They predictably appear and a predictably disappear as they continue their journey south.