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Songbirds/perching birds at Bear River Refuge - lark bunting?

Hi All:

I was on the refuge for 6 hours on Friday, 8/8/03, but instead of looking at
shorebirds, concentrated more on the tamarisk-invaded, weedy edges of the
dikes after noticing a few warblers.  We must have had a little influx of
birds overnight, as there were quite a few songbirds around that I hadn't
noticed the day before.  They included:

Quite a number of sparrows, including song, savannah, vesper, white-crowned,
chipping and many lark sparrows - about 20 in all.  Also recorded yellow and
Wilson's warblers and common yellowthroat.  More interesting was the rock
wren and rufous hummingbird which was feeding on thistle on the back side of
the auto tour.  He really looked out of place out there.

But the most interesting find of the day was a bird I want to call a lark
bunting.  It too was on the back side of the auto tour - very loosely
associated with a few sparrows.  It was larger than the other birds, more on
the size order of a Zonotrichia sparrow, but it was very darkly streaked
(black-looking) on the breast and sides, with a brown-gray and black-striped
back.  It had both black and white malar stripes and a white patch on the
wing.  But the clincher for me was the thick, stubby blue-gray colored bill.
I made copious field notes as I studied the bird for about 2 minutes through
my spotting scope, and feel quite confident with my identification.  What I
DON'T know is...is this a significant sighting for Bear River Refuge, or do
these birds migrate through the area on a "rare" basis.  I'd like to hear
from you all - I'll write it up if warranted.  Thanks!

Betsy Beneke
Perry, Utah

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