Subject: [Tweeters] Wenas Campground: CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER
Date: Jun 12 23:20:56 2010
From: Adam Sedgley - sedge.thrasher at gmail.com


Hi Tweets,

Had a great time today leading a group of three high school students from
the Seattle Audubon BirdWatch program through Ellensburg, Vantage, Umtanum
Road and the Wenas campground. It was a full day leaving Seattle at 6am and
returning at 9pm. Highlights included:

- Displaying WILSON'S SNIPE and flyover male RED-NECKED PHALAROPE at
Hungry Junction Road in Ellensburg
- Singing SAGE, BREWER'S and VESPER SPARROW at the entrance to Whiskey
Dick WMA
- Calling ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER at MP24 on Vantage Highway *(thanks
Tom!)*
- Flyover GREAT-HORNED OWL and numerous COMMON NIGHTHAWKS near Umptanum
Falls with the expected warblers and vireos.
- Numerous LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS throughout Umtanum road
- A singing *CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER* was located in some riparian habitat
just a couple hundred meters down the road from the Wenas Campground. I know
this is quite unlikely but I was immediately struck by the song while we
were walking up the road. To reassure myself that I wasn't hallucinating (it
was a lifer), I played the appropriate track on my BirdJam (which uses audio
from Stokes Western Birdsong CD) and it was absolutely spot-on: phrasing,
tone and cadence. Of the three part song, it most often sang the first two
parts but also sang all three repeatedly. As I played it (on my phone, which
has very soft speakers), I received a positive response with the bird flying
in to sing in a conifer just above me. His song matched the recording
verbatim. It flew off after a few minutes. When it continued to sing about
50m away, I played the recording and it immediately flew in again providing
even better views*. This matches the song (and the CD track) quite well:
http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/45301 The precise location: as you go
downhill from Wenas, the road bends to the left (the Wenas sign still
visible behind you). Towards the end of the bend, there is a stand of
conifers on the right hand side of the road (to the left of some
cottonwoods). The bird was singing actively in the middle of this riparian
area.

* - I should note that I do not frequently play bird song/calls and NEVER do
so during spring or summer when birds are potentially on nest. I made a
conscious decision that I would play the song twice to confirm the birds
identity considering how unlikely it is at this location.

Good birding!

Adam

--
Adam Sedgley
S e a t t l e, WA
sedge.thrasher [at] gmail [dot] com
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