ML31464111

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - X

Observation details

Still going through photos and hoping to obtain a recording of this bird to definitively rule out Cordilleran. For now reporting it as a Pacific-slope and hopefully others can get over to see it and maybe get more photos. Originally discovered by Ben Lagasse about an hour earlier who, upon running into me, initially called the bird an Alder, though after mentioning the bird incessantly flicked it tail and had a teardrop shaped eyering, I suggested it may be a "western" flycatcher and recommended we go back and try to photograph it. We managed to relocated the bird almost immediately doing a feeding circuit around the biggest stack of animal cages. A small, compact empid, *very* washed out and worn. Yellowish wash to all of the body, especially the face. Upperparts were an olive-yellow color. Relatively wide bill with an entirely orange lower mandible. Thin white teardrop shaped eyering. Whitish underparts with apparently some gray in the flanks. Two worn white wing bars. Crown was slightly darker than the rest of the head and elevated slightly (typical of "western" flycatchers). The bird dipped its tail a few times while Ben and I were present (though decidedly not as much as when Ben had first found it). Ben and I both thought we may have heard the bird vocalize once or twice, but were unable to confirm this or get a recording. Looking at eBird records it appears this would constitute a first North Slope record, and would be the northern-most record of this species (though there may be other records I am not aware of). Considering this species breeds much closer and *seems* to have a greater propensity to wander north of its range (for example a record from Gambell) than Cordilleran, it seems reasonable to presume this is a Pacific-slope. Cordilleran seem to wander further East rather than north of their breeding range. Unfortunately, with no recordings it really isn't a definitive identification to species. Regardless, its a pretty cool record, thanks to Ben for finding it!

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 20D

ISO

800

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/22.0

Shutter speed

1/320 sec

Dimensions

1107 pixels x 938 pixels

Original file size

222.38 KB