ML282989421

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

***mega. Continuing individual found yesterday by Brian Harris (see https://ebird.org/checklist/S74664537). Brian arranged for this group to search for the bird the following day. This bird was on private property in the Andrews Point area and, because of concern for COVID and the potentially large amount of attention this bird would receive, the wishes of the landowners in the area were that it *not* be shared publicly. While we enjoy sharing special birds such as this with the community, this was submitted a month later so that the wishes of the local residents would be respected. Below notes written by SMW and MJI: We had spent 3 hours of the early morning with no sign of the vireo. Its departure had started to seem increasingly likely. However, after scouring the same thickets repeatedly, MJI heard and audio recorded a vireo spontaneously joining a group of birds (Carolina Wrens, etc.) scolding something in thickets. Compared to Red-eyed Vireo (REVI), this bird's scolds were given at a faster rate, higher-pitched, briefer, and more down-slurred. The previous day Sean had encountered this bird and had remarked that the scold sounded off for REVI. Both MJI and SMW had expected the Yellow-green Vireo scold to be indistinguishable from REVI (from previous experience in Latin America), but in actuality recordings of the scolds do seem to be quite different and probably field identifiable. Thus, when MJI heard this bird the following day, it instantly recalled the scold of YGVI. When MJI played his recording for the group, it sounded like a perfect match to the scold SMW heard from the YGVI the day prior and to audio recordings of the call. This gave the search team renewed hope that the bird was still in the area. After another 30 minutes staring at this thicket, eventually AO noticed a medium-sized, yellowish passerine skulking low. Within a minute, a vireo with a bright olive-green back and almost entirely yellow underside flew out of the thicket and over to some nearby trees at the opposite end of the thicket. Most of the group saw the bird in flight and felt strongly that this was "the bird". We pursued and found the YGVI in a pine; MJI had particularly good looks from an elevated location, although it only offered fleeting glimpses and no photos. We spent most of the next 3 hours with only obscured, brief teases. However, AO, MRW, and PBT each had close, unobstructed views in some bare branches near the original spot where it had flown away from us. Finally, as fatigue began to take hold of our group, the vireo popped into a sunlit thicket and happily foraged in the open for 2-3 minutes. All group members convened quickly and enjoyed extensive, satisfying views after what had been 6 hours of a frustrating chase. Description: Like a bright REVI (all comparisons that follow are to REVI) with colors that bled onto the underside and face. The back was a brighter olive-green than on REVI and the tail and rump were even brighter, with the rump closer to yellow than green. The yellow on the flanks were extensive enough that at a complete side profile, only a small amount of white down the midline of the body could be seen. The nape and sides of the face were particularly bright green, whereas this area is typically more olive or brownish on Red-eyed. The face was like a washed-out Red-eyed’s, with the lores and postocular eyeline being a paler gray, and the black line above the supercilium not contrasting as markedly with the gray cap. The bill was noticeably longer and pale-based. Diagnostic photos confirm this third state record, with the previous records: 1 molting adult banded at Plum Island, 5 Sep 2011; HY banded at the lighthouse on Monomoy NWR, 15 Oct 2019. Other East Coast records north of Florida are from Cape May Co., NJ (26 Sep 2018, 23 May 2019, 1 Oct 2020), and Hilton Head I., SC (22-27 Sep 2016). This is just the 2nd found "live" in the field and not captured in a mistnet, with the spring NJ record being the other.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

400

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

2700 pixels x 1858 pixels

Original file size

2 MB