Subject: Fw: [bcintbird] Alder Flycatcher near Dot Ranch (Nicola Valley), June 18
Date: Jun 23 23:51:43 2004
From: Wayne C. Weber - contopus at telus.net


Tweeters,

More ALDER FLYCATCHER stuff.....

The Alder Flycatcher that I reported in the attached message was along
the Nicola River west of Merritt, BC-- about 80-90 miles N of the
Washington/BC border, but well south of the known breeding range of
this species. I didn't tape the song of this bird, but I did tape the
song of an Alder Flycatcher at the same location (possibly the same
bird?) 2 years ago.

Also, Don Cecile of Vernon, BC found a singing Alder Flycatcher at
Lavington, just E of Vernon, on June 12. I believe there are no more
than 5 or 6 records of the species for the heavily-birded Okanagan
Valley of B.C.

Unfortunately-- as those of you who read my most recent Vancouver, BC
RBA report will know-- an Alder Flycatcher reported at the south end
of Pitt Lake near Vancouver, on June 14 and subsequent days was not
confirmed by recording the song, and it seems very likely that it was
a misidentified Willow Flycatcher. The call-note (or abbreviated song)
of Willow Flycatcher, which can be described as a rapid "fwee-beeer!"
(accent on first syllable) has often been mistaken by observers for an
Alder Flycatcher, and I suspect that is what happened here. The normal
territorial songs of Alder and Willow Flycatchers are as different as
those of, for instance, Willow and Least, and I am mystified how
people can confuse singing individuals of the two species. But they
do, and that is why I believe it is very important for out-of-range
Alder or Willow Flycatchers to be documented by recording the song.

At any rate, good luck to those who try to find the Alder Flycatcher
in Marblemount!

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net


----- Original Message -----
From: Wayne C. Weber <contopus at telus.net>
To: BCINTBIRD <bcintbird at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: NCENBIRD <ncenbird at bcgroup.net>; INLAND NW BIRDERS
<inland-nw-birders at uidaho.edu>
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 6:12 PM
Subject: [bcintbird] Alder Flycatcher near Dot Ranch (Nicola Valley),
June 18


> Birders,
>
> While conducting the Canford BBS route along the Nicola River west
of
> Merritt, BC on June 18, I came across an ALDER FLYCATCHER singing
> lustily near the Dot Ranch turnoff. It was singing almost non-stop
> when I stopped there about 8:30 AM, and I got good looks at the bird
> (not that it helps much in separating the species from a Willow
> Flycatcher, but at least I know it wasn't a Starling imitation). The
> bird was still singing vigorously when I returned after finishing
the
> survey, and checked on it again about 11:00 AM.
>
> The exact location of this bird-- in the unlikely event that anyone
> else wants to look for it-- was on Highway 8 about 31 km west of
> Merritt, or 0.7 km east of the east junction with the Dot Ranch
Cutoff
> Road. (The latter is a loop road which leaves Highway 8 and follows
> close to the Nicola River, returning to Highway 8 about 4 km farther
> west.) The flycatcher was in a wet area on the river floodplain with
> large willows, dogwoods and other trees/shrubs, and even sang for a
> short time from the lower branches of a ponderosa pine near the
shrub
> thicket. There were several Willow Flycatchers nearby.
>
> The unusual thing about this sighting is that it's not that unusual.
I
> found an Alder Flycatcher at nearly the same spot in 2002, and in
that
> case I tape-recorded the song as documentary evidence. I have also
> found single Alder Flycatchers at other locations along this BBS
route
> in 1980 and 1985, for a total of 4 years out of 14 on the Canford
> route. The 1980 bird stayed on territory for at least 3 weeks, and
if
> I recall correctly, Rick Howie got to see and hear it too.
>
> I also have a record of Alder Flycatcher one year on the Brookmere
BBS
> route, for a total of at least 5 records for the Nicola Valley. I
> believe this is almost as many records of Alder Flycatcher as exist
> for the Okanagan Valley (or existed until recently.)
>
> Alder Flycatchers are not normally considered to breed south of the
> Cariboo Plateau in south-central BC (and I don't think there are any
> breeding records yet for the Okanagan or Nicola Valleys), but it's
not
> unheard of for the occasional one to show up in June, hold a
> territory, and maybe hang around for awhile.
>
> Unlike the recent Alder Flycatcher reports from Pitt Meadows near
> Vancouver, which remain unconfirmed (no one was able to tape the
song,
> and the record remains questionable in my view), this one was the
real
> McCoy!
>
>
> Wayne C. Weber
> Delta, BC
> contopus at telus.net
>