Subject: [Tweeters] Black Phoebe -- Would You or Wouldn't You?
Date: Jul 5 23:06:09 2012
From: Blair Bernson - blair at washingtonadvisorygroup.com


I had some business to take care of in Tacoma area
so I decided to extend the trip and go to the
Hawks Prairie Settling Ponds to see the Black
Phoebe that Shep Thorp had reported. With his
additional directions in hand, I arrived there
easily at around 1:00 in brilliant sunshine (not
always the best for birding but sure was nice).
First set back was that I had left the SD Card in
the computer so the camera was useless. The
second setback was that I had used too much of the
phone's battery life with the GPS navigation and
thus had very little reserve for any calls off
IBird Pro which Shep had suggested might be
necessary. The third setback is the reason for
the would you or wouldn't you query.

The area is very interesting, several ponds
surrounded by mixed growth and an adjacent
forested area next to a grass prairie. Shep had
seen the bird near kiosk 4. They are not numbered
except on the map so if you go, get the lay of the
land first. I decided to circumnavigate the area
ending up at Kiosk 4. Fair number of birds around
including some I could only hear (a weak skill)
and thus not identify for certain. Easily
recognized by sight or song, however, were Western
Wood Pewees, White Crowned and Song Sparrows, RW
Blackbirds, Barn, Tree and Violet Green Swallows,
American Crow, Turkey Vulture, American Goldfinch
(many), Cedar Waxwings (many, many, many) American
Robin, Black Capped Chickadee, Red Breasted
Nuthatch, Spotted Towhee, House Finch and Olive
Sided Flycatcher.

Almost immediately as I arrived at Kiosk 4, I
heard what seemed to be a very distinctive
"fee-be" call and saw a silhouette backlit by the
sun of what indeed looked like a Black Phoebe at
distance. As I pulled up my binoculars all hell
broke loose as an accipiter (I believe a Cooper's
Hawk) flashed out of a group of bushes/small trees
and flew in the general direction of my
silhouetted bird which joined every other bird in
the vicinity in rapidly disappearing (not in the
hawk's talons) becoming stone silent. The hawk
flew off but within moments an adult American Bald
Eagle flew in low and then swooped up landing in a
rather tall tree. I do not know if the Eagle
flushed the hawk but the silence remained for at
least another 10 minutes before the eagle circled
the pond and then flew off towards the prairie.

I remained in the area for another 30 minutes and
it slowly came back to life. During this time I
coaxed perhaps 3 Black Phoebe calls out of the
almost dead phone...all without reply.

So the Birding Ethics 101 question is would you or
wouldn't you consider yourself as having a
"countable" experience for Black Phoebe? (I am
not posing the other Ethics 101 question about
using calls in the field as that has already had
more than its share of "opinions")

--
Blair Bernson
Seattle