[obol] mini flycatcher

[Tom Shreve (tasgenl)]

As Linda has said these are small birds, I think 5 1/4 to 5 3/4, I have 
included information on reference points for sizes on a couple of the 
photos.  There were two birds gathering insects and heading across a 
brushline into a stand of Doug Fir about 10 feet tall.  They did not return 
to the same perch after catching an insect, they moved up and down the fence 
line and sometimes perched at other low places between the brush line and 
the fence. We didn't hear either sing but they did a back and forth 'weep' 
call at one point.  A lighter lower bill was not distinguishable in the 
field but does seem present in some of the photos.
The photos are at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82005481@N00/


Tom Shreve
TASGENL at comcast dot net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Linda Fink" <linda at fink.com>
To: <obol at lists.oregonstate.edu>
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 6:52 AM
Subject: [obol] mini flycatcher


> Many thanks to Tom Shreve for spending his Saturday morning taking photos 
> of
> the pair of flycatchers (yes, there's a pair) here on our farm near Grand
> Ronde (SW Yamhill County). We decided that they are probably Western Wood
> Pewees, even though they're too small, have all black bills with no 
> lighter
> color on the lower mandible, dip their tails as pewees aren't supposed to
> do, and fly out from ever-changing low perches instead of coming back to 
> the
> same high perch as pewees should. Birds don't read books.
>
> This pair is feeding youngsters in a nest nearby. If the weather cools and 
> I
> have time, I will look for the nest and try to get a photo. That should 
> help
> determine if these really are Pewees. One appears to have more more yellow
> on the belly than the other, but that could be lighting.
>
> Tom will post photos somewhere, I'm sure. He measured the perches he saw 
> the
> flycatchers on to figure out size. I can't thank him enough for all the 
> time
> and trouble he went to. I was milking goats and doing chores most of the
> time Tom was here. I might never have known there were 2 flycatchers and
> they were hauling bugs to a nest if he hadn't had the patience to just sit
> and wait and observe. What a dedicated birder! Thanks, Tom.
>
> Linda Fink, near Grand Ronde, Yamhill County
>
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