Santa Cruz CA, 16th September, Wren? (1 Viewer)

[Redmist]

Hoping someone can identify this from these heavily cropped images I took last saturday (16th September), on cliffs next to a beach just north of Santa Cruz, CA. The closest I can get is a rock wren but it seems overall quite dark, and ebird shows very few records from the area so hopefully someone can confirm or correct. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I'd agree with Rock Wren.

 

[KenM]

Rock Wren for me.

Cheers

 

[Butty]

Yes, does look dark, but also looks like a rock wren. Has those tiny white speckles on the upperparts like they have.

 

[Redmist]

Thanks Andrew, Ken and Butty for the confirmation. Ebird shows no September records for Santa Cruz, so I really wanted a second opinion.

 

[rkj]

This bird has been seen again today and reported on the local birders listserve. It is indeed a rarity for the area and I suspect some, perhaps many, birders will be out looking for it tomorrow.