This female eastern Purple Finch was in a large flock of Cassin's Finch and House Finch at the Livermore Church northwest of Fort Collins in Larimer County, Colorado. This was an especially exciting find for me because it was not only a rare county life bird, but also a state life bird (and it got counted for the Rawhide Christmas Bird Count). There have been relatively numerous reports of this species up and down the Colorado Front Range this winter. Also, a birder who resides near Livermore says that Purple Finch occurs at his feeders regularly, so it may be that it is overlooked in areas where Cassin's Finches are common.

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Update from Jan 4: Cassin's finch flock was smaller, with no sign of Purple Finch. Rosy-finch flock was bigger (about 55 GCRF and 1 adult male Black RF). Also, a Lapland Longspur was with Horned Larks in the parking lot again.