 |
| First Whatzit? of the day! |
On the one day when I thought no bird within earshot would come anywhere near my yard, two whatzits and a warbler show up! With my backyard blaring classic country music, I sat basking in the aroma of my recently bloomed star jasmine. Eyes half closed and no camera at hand, I kicked back and relaxed, no need to scan for birds. What bird in his right mind would show his beak amid such an assault on the ears?
 |
| Star Jasmine in full fragrant bloom! |
Then out of the corner of my eye a flash of bright yellow whizzed by. The birder within me awoke and I looked through my Palo Verde tree, with its fading yellow blossoms, and there he was in all his glory, a Wilson's Warbler with his sporty black cap!
 |
| My first ever backyard Wilson's Warbler! |
This little Verdin popped out to see what all the fuss was about. Unimpressed by the warbler's arrival, he continued on with his usual flitting from branch to branch, bug to bug, and blossom to blossom.
As if that wasn't exciting enough, another unfamiliar bird caught my eye, this time in the Velvet Mesquite tree! Gotta love those native trees! At first-glance I thought it was a Lucy's Warbler, then I downloaded my photos and thought Bell's Vireo. Then I thought I had better check with other birders to ID this surprise guest, who is not as obvious as the distinctively marked Wilson's Warbler. Jeff Stemshorn (who claims not to be a birder, hah) immediately narrowed it down to being a Flycatcher, not a Warbler or Vireo, and thinks it may be a Pacific-slope Flycatcher. Kathe Anderson, birder and guide extraordinaire, feels that I've "got a Cordilleran or Pacific slope (or dusky!) flycatcher (pretty good teardrop eye ring, largish bill, olive-sort of coloration)." |
| Second Whatzit? of the day. |
On top of all that, another whatzit lurked behind the branches just long enough for this blurry masterpiece to be taken. Anyone want to take a stab at ID-ing this bird? My guess is Ash-throated Flycatcher.
Thank you Kathe Anderson and Jeff Semshorn for help with ID!
Photos by Peggy Thomas, April 24, 2014.
Hey Peggy, sounds like a nice afternoon!
ReplyDeleteI'd say your first whatzit is a nifty Pac-slope Flycatcher, and the longer body, yellow wash on belly, grayish breast and throat, and rusty tail points to Ash-throated Flycatcher for the second bird.
Cheers!
Then again, it does have a pretty big bill and the yellow wash is bright. Brown-crested Flycatcher (2nd bird) is also a possibility.
DeleteThe more I look at the first bird, the less I see the tear-drop shaped eye ring one would expect on a Pac-slope. Dusky Flycatcher is probably more accurate.