Subject: [Tweeters] RE: [Tweeters-Alerts] Whatcom Least Flycatcher
Date: Jun 23 23:35:53 2011
From: Wayne Weber - contopus at telus.net


Birders,



The LEAST FLYCATCHER at the Deming Homestead Eagle Park was still singing quite persistently about 3 PM yesterday, June 22, and I managed to get a good view of the bird, but too far away for photos with my point-and-shoot.



Many thanks to Gary Bletsch and Marv Breece for reporting this bird. This was not only my first for Whatcom County (#258), but my first in western WA (west of the Cascade crest). This brings my western WA list to 350. However, Least Flycatchers are seen almost every year around Vancouver, BC (including this year), so they should pop up more often in Whatcom than they seem to.



I tried for but missed the Least Flycatcher at Corkindale Creek near Marblemount on June 10, but it may already have left by then. It was mid-afternoon and breezy, so not the best time of day for birding. I was on my way to a botanical conference in Winthrop, so I didn?t have too much time to look. So I still need it for Skagit County!



Good luck and good birding,



Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC

contopus at telus.net







From: owner-whatcombirds at lists.wwu.edu [mailto:owner-whatcombirds at lists.wwu.edu] On Behalf Of Marv Breece
Sent: June-21-11 9:38 PM
To: Tweeters
Cc: WHATCOM BIRDERS
Subject: Fw: [Tweeters-Alerts] Whatcom Least Flycatcher



The LEAST FLYCATCHER Gary Bletsch found in Whatcom County on June 12 was still chebecking away at the Deming Homestead Eagle Park today. Exactly where he found it. I took some photos and put them on pbase. The link to my recent photos gallery in pbase is below. Also in the gallery are images of Gary's LEAST FLYCATCHER form Corkindale Creek in Skagit County on May 31 as well as images of BLACK-THROATED SPARROW from Vantage on June 14.



http://www.pbase.com/marvbreece/new_images_of_washington_birds



Marv Breece
Seattle, WA
marvbreece at q.com









----- Original Message -----

From: Gary Bletsch <mailto:garybletsch at yahoo.com>

To: tweeters-alerts <mailto:tweeters-alerts at u.washington.edu>

Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2011 9:05 PM

Subject: [Tweeters-Alerts] Whatcom Least Flycatcher



Dear Tweeters,

I stopped by to check the Deming Homestead Eagle Park today (6-12-11) around midday, and was surprised to find a LEAST FLYCATCHER there, chebecking away. I called Larry Moss, and he and I got good looks at the bird.

This location is east of the town of Deming, between Bellingham and Mount Baker. Coming from the west on SR 542 (Mt Baker Hwy), make a right (turning south) onto Truck Road, near milepost 15 of the Mt. Baker Hwy; reach the small parking area for the park in less than a mile.

I had walked in about twenty paces from the parking area, made a right at the T, then started hearing the bird as I approached the footbridge, which is visible from Truck Road. After crossing the footbridge, I made a left, and got good looks at the bird from the edge of a field. I stood among some sapling cedars that have been planted there. Sometimes it was necessary to walk in to the edge of the riparian zone, peering over some Japanese Knotweed. The footbridge is visible from Truck Road--in fact, the bird might be audible from Truck Road, at least in the quiet of morning.

This individual sang a more normal "chebec" than has the recent Skagit (Corkindale) bird, and has a more normal back color (no grey patch), along with more of an eye-ring. I did not hear any other vocalizations from this flycatcher, other than "chebec."

Yours truly,


Gary Bletsch Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA

garybletsch at yahoo.com