[obol] Alder Flycatchers in Oregon

[Tim Rodenkirk]

Thanks for the incite Wayne, I think my confusion has
been between the willow call and the alder song like
you mentioned.  Arch's discussion has been excellent
also. I need to listen to my tapes a bit more and pay
attention when I'm back in Michigan at the end of the
month (or take a trip to BC sometime soon). Also,
thanks to everyone else who has contributed to this
most interesting discussion.  I guess I need to get
some inexpensive recording equipment after I buy the
camera...

Merry migration!
Tim R
Coos Bay 
 
--- "Wayne C. Weber" <contopus at telus.net> wrote:

> Oregon Birders,
> 
> I am well aware of the long and controversial
> history of supposed
> Alder Flycatchers in Oregon. This species also has a
> controversial
> history in Washington, where there are only 2 or 3
> accepted records
> (all documented by recorded songs), and several
> other undocumented
> records. I actually found the first Alder Flycatcher
> for Washington,
> a singing bird near Oroville in 1991. However, as I
> did not have recording
> equipment with me at the time, this record is
> undocumented and I never
> submitted it to the Washington state Records
> Committee.
> 
> In British Columbia, however, Alder Flycatchers are
> a common and
> widespread breeding species in most of the province
> east of
> the Coast and Cascade Mountains, south nearly to the
> Thompson River.
> Occasional singing birds on territory are found
> south of the normal
> breeding range (e.g. in the Okanagan Valley, Nicola
> Valley, and at
> Vancouver, where the first documented record was in
> 2006).
> 
> I am puzzled at the difficulty that many observers
> seem to have
> in distinguishing songs of Alder and Willow
> Flycatchers. Their songs
> are as different as those of any other 2 species of
> Empidonax.
> I suspect the problem is mainly the lack of
> familiarity of many
> OR and WA observers with Alder Flycatchers. The
> differences in
> song patterns have been well described by Arch, and
> can be easily
> heard on the several field guides to bird songs that
> include both species. Other than the slight
> differences in song patterns
> of southwestern Willow Flycatchers (extimus)
> mentioned by Arch,
> there is very little geographic variation in songs
> of this species.
> I can hear no significant differences in song
> patterns between
> Willow Flycatchers in coastal BC, eastern Oregon
> (where I've heard lots
> of them), and southern Ontario. I can assure
> observers that,
> contrary to remarks made by Mike Patterson and Jeff
> Gilligan, there
> are no noticeable regional dialects of Willow
> Flycatchers in the
> Pacific Northwest, and no "intermediate" song
> patterns between
> Alders and Willows.
> 
> Part of the problem may be the "fweee-beer" 
> call-note of Willow Flycatcher,
> which is a call-note, not a song, but may be
> mistaken by some observers
> for an Alder Flycatcher song. The quality is similar
> to that of an Alder,
> but the pattern (pitch and timing) are very
> different (two-noted rather than
> three-noted).
> 
> Basically, if you have a singing bird that does not
> sound EXACTLY like
> an Alder Flycatcher song on the Peterson or other
> auditory field guides,
> it is not an Alder Flycatcher.
> 
> Given the past confusion about Alder Flycatchers in
> OR, WA, and even
> in extreme southern BC, I think it is essential to
> have a recording of
> the song if a supposed Alder Flycatcher record is to
> be taken seriously
> by a Records Committee. (I have successfully
> recorded Alder
> Flycatchers in the Skagit Valley of WA, near
> Vancouver, and at
> out-of-range locations in the southern BC Interior,
> but unfortunately
> not the 1991 bird near Oroville, WA.)
> 
> As Arch pointed out, Alder Flycatchers normally
> migrate east of
> the Rockies, and would be expected only as a very
> rare migrant in OR
> and WA. However, there is another factor he didn't
> mention which
> contributes to the scarcity of OR reports of the
> species. This is the fact
> that Empidonax flycatchers (like Catharus thrushes)
> normally DO NOT
> sing while on migration--  they sing only on their
> breeding territory.
> This is in contrast to most warblers, which sing
> frequently in migration.
> Thus, most Alder Flycatchers which DO show up in
> Oregon are
> unlikely to sing. However, if an Alder shows up in
> June, and decides
> that this is breeding habitat, it's much more likely
> to be singing.
> 
> When all is said and done, the Alder Flycatcher is
> probably the most
> glaring of all omissions from the Oregon state list.
> It is highly
> likely that a few individuals show up every year,
> but are overlooked
> because they aren't singing, or inadequately
> documented if they
> are singing. (All good birders should have some
> inexpensive recording
> equipment and keep it with them, like their
> binoculars and cameras!)
> Hopefully, Randy's bird will turn out to be a
> genuine Alder Flycatcher, or
> if not, someone else will document one in the near
> future.
> 
> 
> Wayne C. Weber, Ph.D.
> Delta, BC
> contopus at telus.net
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> obol mailing list
> obol at lists.oregonstate.edu
> http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol
> 
> To unsubscribe, send a message to:
> obol-leave at lists.oregonstate.edu.
> 



       
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. 
http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433