Purple Finch is bird 976
The earlier targeted Purple Finch chase was around Sacramento - https://patbirdchase.blogspot.com/2017/05/california-birding-dec-2016.html (day 5). The range map of Purple Finch is huge and I was certain I would eventually get it, and decided not to chase it unless it is spotted at Austin. Purple Finch - male Over the past week I kept seeing Purple Finch sightings at several places around Austin. One place in particular had regular sightings, and the presence of eight made me go after it. It was a 35 mins drive from my home and after morning errands I went in the afternoon. This is not a good time to bird, but all I wanted was one decent look of at least one bird. Most birds were females and one was a young male. I preferred to see the male but the probability was in fa vour of females. I found some difficulty in parking and got to start walking by 1:50 pm. The ground was slushy due to the rains and there were several water crossings. It w...