Hello, I would love help identifying a bird call we heard yesterday and today. We were camped at the Heart O' the Hills campground on the Hurricane Ridge Road. (Just after the ranger station so not a very high elevation.) The call was a two-note call, first note higher than the second. It went on all afternoon and then started again in the morning. The bird appeared to be high in the conifers. It sounded like the bird was not moving much.

The closest I can come to describe it is the two-note call of a black-capped chickadee however to me the black-capped chickadee's call is a lazy, soft call. This call was more insistent, crisper, louder, and the two notes were more distinct. (For musicians out there, I would describe the chickadee's call as a slurred call while with this call each note was articulated.) The tempo of the call was similar to that of the chickadee.


We could not get a recording as our cell phone batteries were quickly draining. Any suggestions? Anyone going up that way in the near future who could listen for it and report back? We are usually pretty good with bird calls but this one has us stumped.



Deborah West
Olympia
olyclarinet at gmail.com