[obol] Announcing OFO Field Encampment June 8-10: Western Flycatchers of Upper Rogue River

[Joel Geier]

OFO Field Encampment June 8-10: Western Flycatchers of Upper Rogue River

One of the most challenging puzzles in Oregon field ornithology in
recent years has been to discern the ranges of Pacific-slope and
Cordilleran Flycatchers. Work in recent seasons by Dr. Arch McCallum has
shown that "Western" Flycatchers in the Warner Mountains have
vocalizations of Cordilleran type, at a high level of confidence, based
on statistical comparisons of spectrograms with Cordilleran Flycatcher
recordings from Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, versus Pacific-slope
Flycatcher recordings obtained from near the Pacific Coast.

This OFO field encampment will help to address the question, “Where and
how abruptly do Western Flycatcher vocalizations switch from Cordilleran
to Pacific-slope in character?” Our study area will be the upper reaches
of the Rogue River, from Prospect north. In 1980, Ned Johnson found that
Western Flycatchers in this area had Pacific-slope songs, but when
collected showed some degree of Cordilleran influence in terms of
morphology. 

>From our "encampment" in the Prospect Ranger District (several
campgrounds and a couple of motels are available depending on personal
preferences), we'll fan out each morning to sites where Western
Flycatchers have been located, and record their dawn songs and, a little
later in the morning, the male position notes. Later portions of the day
will be used to scout for additional Western Flycatchers for the next
morning's recording sessions, and/or for casual birding. Back in camp,
we'll digitize the recordings and see how they compare with reference
populations of Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatchers.

If you're interested in participating, please contact the organizers for
additional information on this event, including recording protocols,
suggestions on equipment, and preparatory information and recordings of
Western Flycatcher vocalizations. 

Organizer: Joel Geier joel.geier at peak.org or (541) 745-5821
Acoustics Specialist: Arch McCallum archmcc at qwest.net
Local birding expert: Norm Barrett ndbarret at medford.net