There has been no relocation reported of the breeding-plumaged
Red-Throated
Pipit, seen Sept. 22 at Esquimalt Lagoon, near Victoria. I know that
some
birders traveled from Seattle to join the search, but when I spoke with
them
after noon on Sept. 23, they and others had been unsuccessful. By
chance, a
meeting of the Victoria Bird Records Committee had long been scheduled
for
Sept. 23. The Pipit was accepted as the second record for the area.
(Is
that a new record for speed by a records committee?)

About the species, Andie wrote:

>Red-throated Pipit ... call was distinct from that of the abundant American
>Pipits, was as described by Roberson (Rare Birds of the West Coast 1980:
>339) -

>"a penetrating wirey, thin 'speew' or 'pssss,' which lasts a full half
>second, starting explosively and trailing off to an almost ultrasonic
>ending."

>Interestingly, the Red-throated Pipits I heard on Gambell on St. Lawrence
>Island off northwestern Alaska (where this species breeds in small numbers)
>in late May this year did not sound that much different than our American
>Pipits. I remember noting this to Kevin Zimmer who was tour leader on the
>VENT trip that these Gambell birds were uttering a very American Pipit-like
>call. He agreed. So I'm confused by what the literature and you say.

>My question is this: are some call notes of the Red-throated similar to our
>species?

My answer is: perhaps you are asking the wrong person. My experience
with this species is very limited and amounts to the two birds that have
been documented here near Victoria and one near Vancouver. The calls I
have
heard sound, to me at least, like "Tseeep" or "Seeeee Seeeee", with
each
note lasting about a half second. I have heard two of the three birds
and
both have sounded as described...quite different from American
Pipits...but
"explosive" and high enough in pitch to warrant "ultrasonic". Three
others with me on Sunday agreed with the "Tseeep" sound, although they
may
write it differently.

Do any two people hear exactly the same?

Bryan Gates, Victoria bgates at assessment.env.gov.bc.ca