Lovely Lapland Longspur

Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus

Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus (the brown tones really warm up in the sun)

Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus (showing off its trademark 'longspurs' well)

Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus

The bird merited a mention in the field station narrative, which I wrote that day

  One of my favoured TCBO bird encounters was with a Lapland Longspur. This particular bird showed up on September 11th and remained for several days. The bird was quite confiding, so much so that I almost tripped over it several occasions while checking ground traps. My one previous encounter with this species came on a memorable trip to Seosan with the BK Boys last November (http://snowyowllost.blogspot.ca/2015/12/seosan-november-28-29.html). Those birds were relatively distant, so the lengthy close-up views of the TCBO bird felt decadent.
  Is it just me, or is that bird smiling?