11/12/2023 Western Flycatcher -- Albemarle Co., VASaturday (November 11, 2023) afternoon, I got word of a Western Flycatcher in Albemarle County (originally found by Tracy Kaminer), but Lindsey Smith and I were in Northampton County for Rarity Roundup. So, the next morning we woke up, chased a couple rare birds, and took off to Albemarle. When we got to the spot on White Diamond Lane, James Fox and around a half-dozen birders were already on the bird. We observed the bird as it sat abreast into the blazing sun. The Empidonax glowed beautiful shades of green and gold in the evening light. After a few minutes, the bird started foraging throughout the Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) and moved up and down the hedgerow. The bird stayed between one and twelve feet from the ground, and showed for over 20 minutes. We could easily see the "tear-drop" shaped eye ring, which is quite diagnostic of this species, and the strong top knot. There was some concern about how poor the bird looked (we had joked that the bird even looked like it had been across the country), but we could see some pin feathers in the top knot and on the cheek. This hopefully means this bird is just molting and is not actively dying as we had feared. Eventually, the bird popped behind the hedgerow.
After about 45 minutes, Lindsey and I left Kathy and Pam, who did get the bird about 35 minutes after we left. There has been audio recorded of the bird, and the current conclusion is that this bird is a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, which has very recently been lumped in with Cordilleran Flycatcher to create the Western Flycatcher. Currently, it seems that these two former species are not considered even as subspecies, but I only make this note as to if the taxonomy were to change again...
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Ty SmithIn my neck of the woods, most call me the Snake Man. I am just a simple, Herp, Bird, and Fish guy (quickly falling into Leps and Odes), from South-central Virginia, an area which is very under studied. I hope to fix that. I have studied herps for over 15 years, and specialize in East Coast species ID and southeastern species habitat/distribution. I am a Master Naturalist (with over 1,000 hours of service), former Park Naturalist, Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas II Volunteer (VABBA2), Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO) Member, Virginia Herpetological Society (VHS) Member, as well as the President of the Margret Watson Bird Club in Farmville, Virginia. I am very active on eBird, but I curate a few projects on iNat, and review many, many Herp observations. I also specialize in Herp and Fish husbandry, and have several species I work with in the home. CategoriesAll Class: Birds Class: Bony Fish Class: Mammals Class: Reptiles County: Albemarle County: Buena Vista County: Halifax County: Prince Edward Family: Chickadees & Titmice Family: Deirochelyine Turtles Family: Falcons & Allies Family: Galliforms Family: Grebes & Loons Family: Hawks/Kites/Eagles Family: New World Sparrows Family: New World Warblers Family: Rails & Gallinules Family: Snapping Turtles Family: Squirrels & Allies Family: Suckers Family: Tyrant Flycatchers Family: Waterfowl Family: Wrens Rarities |