Subject: [Tweeters] Montana's "first" Carolina Wren
Date: Apr 1 12:37:11 2010
From: Jim Greaves - lbviman at blackfoot.net


In case there are any who can still afford to "chase" inter-state, a
CAROLINA WREN has been positively identified at a private residence
near Arlee in western Montana [south of Flathead Valley, north of
Missoula along US-93], seen be at least one member of the MT Bird
Records Committee, a dozen other birders, confirmed photographically,
by sight, and by voice recordings, all made by the home-owners, and
subsequently by others. The bird was first seen and identified by the
homeowners last week, and confirmed this week. This is the FIRST
Carolina Wren recorded for Montana, and only one of a dozen or so
records "west of its normal" range in SE USA ("closest" being
southern Alberta & eastern Wyoming - Sibley 2000)... Lark and I were
there yesterday, FINALLY got a couple of photos after two hours, and
a few of us heard it doing "typical" twirling "chrrrr chrrrr chrrrr
chrrrr" type calls (it has also been singing, indicating it is male,
but we did not get to hear that). Photos show ID marks: faint white
wing bars (2), bright buffy underneath (including undertail through
abdomen to throat, white throat), long-ish white supercilium, rich
cinnamon upper parts, no apparent "white" corners on tail....
Meantime, keep an eye out in YOUR areas... Last fall, Santa Barbara
CA got its first ever EASTERN winter wren (possibly soon to become a
"new" species). For more details, anyone may subscribe to MOB-Montana
at yahoogroups and get directions, contact information, and parking
instructions - Jim and Lark, Thompson Falls MT - I have 2 mediocre
photos made as it visited a bird feeder, if anyone is interested in
not going to MOB but wants to "see" the bird, one of which I posted
at Surfbirds: search for "Carolina Wren", and two will show up
(Colorado and Montana) - http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/search.cgi