Bird Identification: CLOSED: Just a dumb Female Sparrow - Right?, 3 by wingwoman

wingwoman wrote:
We recently put out a goldfinch feeder with the nyjer thistle, black oil and the whole bit. It's hung in the back corner of our yard, and the chickadees fly over there quite a bit for a nibble, although they have suet feeders in lots of places. I usually hang out at the opposite end of the yard, and even with my 300mm, I can't seem to get a totally clear shot. With goldfinches changing colors as fall approaches, and the rest of our birds fluffing out in new and confusing ways, I'm suddenly having trouble even identifying the female sparrows, which are supposed to be about an inch larger than goldfinches, and of course the female finches of about the same size are all over the thing as well. Most of these birds appear to have a faint eye line, so I'm thinking they're sparrows as well. I'm looking for the black feathers with white wing bars, and white rump - probably have duplicated one here. Need to move to a closer hangout spot. An opinion would be welcomed.