Hello Tweets,

Carol and I were on our monthly walk at Tradition Lake in Issaquah this morning and had a surprise when we saw what we believe to be a Dusky Flycatcher along the trail. About 20 yards east of the overlook platform on Tradition Lake on the Around the Lake Trail we observed an empidonax flycatcher foraging at eye level in a small fir tree. We saw the eye ring and wing bars. It did not vocalize, but it continually flicked its tail upward as it moved around the tree. It was difficult to obtain clear views of the bird in the tree, but the long tail and tail flicking were quite clear. I checked field guides at home and noted that the upward flicking is consistent with Dusky Flycatcher. This flycatcher generally forages in lower vegetation in coniferous forests and the habitat matched that exactly. It is considered rare in fall migration on the western slope of the Cascades. The elevation at Tradition Lake is 540 feet.
I was unable to obtain a photograph, as it flew to another tree to the East and we could not follow it any longer. I could not find any information about any other empid which would flick its tail upward. I checked Birds of Washington (Wahl, Tweit, and Mlodinow, 1995) and they do not list any fall records in western WA.
This bird could be difficult to relocate, but I thought I would post this anyway in case someone wanted to try to see it.

Andy McCormick
Bellevue, WA


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