Tweeters:

I too once seemed to have a Willow give an Alder vocalization, although more
frighteningly, the song. I was on the Skagit WMA loop trail one day at the
end of August, seeking migrants, and I had 4-5 Willows in a loose group
along the willow-alder scrub of the north loop trail. I was hearing the
usual liquidy "whit" notes one expects, but suddenly and distinctly I then
heard the snappy, upward-rising "wee-BEE!" of Alder, which I knew well from
AK. Yet this was heard only from the midst of the group and, in hot
pursuit, I looked the group over, again and again, never finding anything
that "looked" Alder. As details were limited to heard-only (or were they?),
I never reported the incident....I've become more convinced, however, that
my bird was a Willow (or hybrid, or maybe better, Traill's), despite the
song heard....

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com

>From: SGMlod at aol.com
>Reply-To: SGMlod at aol.com
>To: BIRDWG01 at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU, Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: Traill's Flycatcher calls
>Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 16:09:10 EDT
>
>Greetings All
>
>Some of this is old hat and was covered by a brief article in Birding by
>either Mike Patton or Matt Heindel. However, for the first time, I've heard
>an
>apparent Willow Flycatcher give an Alder Flycatcher call (song not given).
>I had
>always wondered if Willow-types giving Alder call notes were indeed
>hybrids.
>However...
>
>On Whidbey Island, in w. Washington, I had a Traill's Flycatcher giving a
>call typical of an Alder Flycatcher. The bird looked absolutely typical for
>a
>western Willow Flycatcher; though I know visual field marks for separating
>these
>taxa are not necessarily reliable, this bird had nothing visually that
>would
>make me think "Alder." The bird appeared to be an adult.
>
>Previous Washington records of apparent Willows calling like Alders (these
>birds were ID'd by visual characteristics and/or song) were in ne.
>Washington,
>where one might think some gene introgression has occurred; ie, a bird
>calling
>like an Alder but looking like a Willow might have some Alder genes.
>Certainly, birds found during migration in CA could be hybrids.
>
>But, this bird in western Washington during mid-summer seems to be at a
>location and date at which a hybrid (even backcross) is unlikely; further
>food for
>thought on the reliability of call notes in separating these species.
>
>Cheers
>Steven Mlodinow

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