ML619059981

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Behaviors

Flying

Observation details

I heard buzzy calls which I initially interpreted as warbler zeeps, but had them pegged as closer to Dickcissel after a few more iterations. I found the medium-sized passerine flying relatively low overhead and snapped a few photos which clearly showed a rather hefty bill. Having thought about Dickcissel already, the big bill sort of put everything into place in my mind, until I sent a quick photo around which Ryan suggested could be BLGR and Tim noted as lacking spiky tail feathers. In retrospect, there’s probably a reason my ears flopped between warbler zeep and Dickcissel buzz, since BLGR flight calls (which I’d never heard before) are sort of in between warbler zeeps and Dickcissel calls. After spending a bit more time with the bad photos I got, I’m seeing tan rather than white undertail coverts and rounded rather than spiky tail feathers. The size of the bird seemed about right for BLGR, and the bill of course seems quite hefty. The tan coloring throughout seems right for a female type bird. If I’m forgetting about some other option for a medium-sized passerine with big bill and buzzy flight calls that could potentially be a fit here, I’ll retract this ID, but it seems right to me considering all the factors noted.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

Lens

150.0-600.0 mm f/5.0-6.3

ISO

280

Focal length

600 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

1317 pixels x 878 pixels

Original file size

550.79 KB