A Brit abroad

Empids galore

Saturday morning looked cold and rainy, and after a late night of bellydancing (don't ask) I decided to have a lie-in. That all changed when Joan called about a Dusky Flycatcher (a new county bird for me) found by Jon King at the Wood Duck Ponds, along with a suite of more common migrants. By the time we arrived, the whole area was very quiet. In the tree where Jon had previously seen Dusky and Pacific-slope Flycatcher, we heard a 'whit' and watched an Empid zip out of sight. The eye-ring was narrow and the bird lacked greenish tones - surely this had to be the Dusky? However, over the next hour, we noted several troubling features. The bill looked relatively long and narrow, and the entire base of the bill was orange except for the sharply demarcated black tip. The bird was waving its tail frequently, including several downward dips. After seeing an unequivocal (and very different looking) Dusky Flycatcher later in the day (see below), and perusing images in the field guides and on the web, we decided this bird was actually a Gray Flycatcher - a California tick for me! Here are some photos of the bird illustrating its bill shape and pattern, and the overall grayish plumage tones (lacking any green or yellow).

This Dusky Flycatcher at Willowbank Ditch (my second Empid county tick of the day!) posed well for the camera. It was also heard to 'whit', but the tail motion was different - it frequently cocked its tail, but never dipped it below its resting position. Compared with the above bird. note the darker grey plumage, yellow-tinged belly and shorter, stouter, all-dark bill.

On Sunday morning this Empid popped into view for a minute or two along Putah Creek, giving me time to take a couple of poor photographs. It gave a single 'whit', but was not seen to flick its tail. The underside of the bill appeared to be primarily orange, and the bill shape relatively long and narrow, leading me to believe that this bird is also a Gray Flycatcher. However, views were too brief for me to be sure - any opinions on these photographs are most welcome!

For comparison, you can see shots of Friday's Hammond's Flycatcher here and here.

Posted by rjhall at April 24, 2005 10:52 PM