Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
We believe this is a new location. Starting at the bottom of the Paulson Crk. drainage, we (Paul, Claire, Jeff, Michelle) listened for singing. Once detected, we divided to flank the bird on opposite sides. While moving upslope two individuals were heard singing 2/3 the way up the slope. I worked 2/3 up the slope and came within 10ft of a S.b.taverneri. I observed the individual singing and foraging in the vegetation near me. Not long after, I detected a second individual in the vicinity of the first. The two moved about medium sized willow and dwarf birch in close vicinity with much quiet contact calling. The second individual then rose to the top of a willow and sang repeatedly. The singing of the second individual did not appear to alter the behavior of the first bird immediately, however when the second individual came back down into the lower willows and in close proximity to the firs. A brief but intense aggressive interaction between the two occurred (initiated by the first). The second retreated a short distance and paused as the first (still very much on high alert - erect stance with crown raised) observed the "loser" before disappearing easterly. Out of sight, the first individual resumed normal behavior. Not long after that individual sang again still relatively close by, but did not appear to disturb the first. ( A third individual was heard singing by Paul, Jeff, and JJ further east on the ridge out of range of Michelle and Claire). I worked a little further up the slope and Michelle came closer to my position; we observed this individual singing and foraging, sometimes dropping low into the vegetation. This individual was aware of our presence but did not appear pressed to leave the area; I found this curious and heard quiet contact calling (maybe from even another bird?). Our presence at this point did seem to bother the bird as it flew up into the air circled upslope then down and around us back to it's original position. It then made a similar clockwise flight flew to the top of the ridge in a willow and sang a couple times before going quiet. We held our position and I felt confident we were in core breeding territory and that a nest must be in the vicinity. I worked up and towards an area I'd observed the individual in the most and quickly flushed a bird out of dense dwarf birch. This (fourth) individual perched within 5ft of me in a willow, alert and contact calling. With much caution I searched and quickly found a cup nest with four deep sky blue eggs with moderate-light brown speckling. The nest was just below the crown (~1ft above the ground) of a dense dwarf birch patch with medium sized willows just above. The cup was composed of finely woven grasses and otherwise very well hidden and obscured by the dwarf birch. It is known that males also incubate, so I have not assumed the sex of the flushed individual to be female. Because this species is monotypic, this population (S.b. taverneri) is not well studied and it is also more recently accepted that songbird vocalization/behavior are male biased, I have also refrained from suggesting that the singing birds are male. Full observation notes available, but not included as they exceeded the max number of bytes allowed.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 90D
- Lens
- EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- ISO
- 800
- Focal length
- 100 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/8.0
- Shutter speed
- 1/160 sec
- Dimensions
- 6960 pixels x 4640 pixels
- Original file size
- 3.39 MB