Chipping Sparrow

I saw my first chipping sparrow at Letchworth State Park in western New York State on June 27, 2021. Judy and I were with our son, Andrew, and his girlfriend, Lauren, and it was on the edge of a parking lot while we were near the "Grand Canyon of the East." 

It is a breeding adult with a rusty crown, an unstreaked gray belly and black eyeline. 

This non-breeding chipping sparrow was seen in Shawnee Mission, Kansas on November 1, 2024 while I was accompanying Judy to a conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Note the more subdued color on the head. 

Given its range, particularly in California, I'm surprised I've not seen more of them. The answer might be that they mainly breed in coniferous forests in the west. 

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

Razorbill

On July 8, 2024 Judy and I were in the midst of a tour around Ireland. We were on the best part: the wild west coast. Two days before we'd done the Dingle Peninsula; the day before we did the Ring of Kerry. It was a Monday and we drove two and a quarter hours from Castleisland, Kerry to Doolin and the Doolin Ferry for a ferry ride for a seaside view of the Cliffs of Moher. I did not have my large camera, all I had was my iPhone. However, I did get a very poor photo of a razorbill, a lifer, riding the choppy waters. 

Illustration in breeding plumage from Birds of the World.

Illustration in non-breeding plumage from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Little Gull

While in the Pamucak Wetlands in Turkey, nearing the Little Meander River where it empties into the Aegean Sea, I spotted a gull that did not look like any of the others I'd seen on our trip. It was on Pamucak Beach very near the water. 

This does look like a photo of a first winter little gull on Birds of the World, with a dark beak and blackish/red legs and feet. 

I identified it as a Mediterranean gull on iNaturalist, but an identifier named kocoleoptera disagreed and indicated it was a little gull. I went to kocoleoptera's iNat page and he identified himself as a Turkish student that is "mainly a birder..., especially those from Turkiye...On ebird, I've been a reviewer for Turkiye since March 14, 2026."  On eBird, his name is indicated as Koray Ogreten from Istanbul, the Regional Reviewer for Turkiye and the Hotspot Editor for Turkiye. 

Illustration of breeding from Birds of the World.

Illustration of non-breeding from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. As I look at the range map, the little gull looks like it should be farther north at this time of the year and iNaturalist did not even show the little gull as an option. But after looking at the identifier's credentials, I decided to go with it. 

The little gull is the smallest gull in the world. Birds of the World's article focuses on the little gull in North America. The Wikipedia article does state that "In the early 21st Century non-breeding birds have summered in western Europe in increasing numbers..." It also indicates that they "typically arrive at their breeding areas from late-April up to late May and start to move away from the breeding areas from the middle of July." This was in western Asia, not western Europe, and was in late June, but I decided to go with the Turkey eBird expert. This is a new bird (lifer) for me. 

Lesser Yellowlegs

I've seen lesser yellowlegs a couple of times. The first time was in the mitigation wetlands along McDonald Road outside Niland, California on April 9, 2021. 

The second time was at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Juab County, Utah on October 20, 2022. 

Illustration of breeding from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of non-breeding from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of non-breeding flying from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World.

Black Turnstone

In March 2025 we visited our son, Sam, who was living at the time in Santa Cruz, California. On the 29th we took a circuitous drive, starting inland, looking for pileated woodpeckers (unsuccessfully), then circled around to the coast and drove south, stopping at a number of beautiful beaches, including Pescadero State Beach which is along SR 1, 14.5 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 1.5 miles west of the city of Pescadero, in San Mateo County. I found my first and only (so far) black turnstones, which look quite a bit like the ruddy turnstone, but are not as colorful. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. 

It breeds in western Alaska with the bulk of the population in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It winters on rock shores along the Pacific coast from southern Alaska southwards as far as northwest Mexico. 

Crested Lark

In Spata Fields, Attica, Greece, with a guide, Spyros Skareas, I saw quite a number of crested larks but they were jumpy and would not let us get too close without flying. I was not able to photograph any of them. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World.

Little Ringed Plover

On July 3rd with Spyros Skareas, my guide, we were in the Spata Fields in Attica, Greece, near Athens International Airport. He saw several little ringed plovers which he placed his scope on and gave Judy and I an opportunity to view them. They are cute little birds with a yellow eye-ring (we saw them in breeding plumage) that really stood out. They were very far away, beyond the capacity of my camera to photograph them and Spyros felt he could not capture them on his cellphone through the scope. 

Illustration of breeding ssp. curonicus from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of non-breeding ssp. curonicus from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World.