ML635381251
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
- Playback
- Not specified
Media notes
Impressively, Merlin correctly called this as DUFL and also correctly called the "whits" from the GRFL 8 days ago
Observation details
Initially I heard 2 whits coming from around (38.4954256, -121.6933240) when I first arrived. I didn’t see or hear anything after so I assumed it might have been something else. An hour later; I noticed an empid in an oak from where I heard the whits earlier. It was a dusky/hammonds type with a round eyering, grayish color and medium sized bill. I approached for a closer look and I was able to observe it for about 5 minutes on and off as it did some fly catching. I first looked at its primary projection which was extremely short and blunt, not like the tweeners that have been documented recently. I also got a good view of the underside of its bill which was quite hefty with a pale base, almost like a GRFL. However, this bird mostly sat still, and it would lift its tail slightly up then down with no downward tail drops observed. Its head was also more rounded and not as flat as I would expect for GRFL. I lost sight of it as I began to text Julian, and I heard a WEFL call close by. I thought I might’ve missed the ID entirely and that it was a drab western when I heard 2 whit calls which I thankfully was recording. I saw the bird and a WEFL take off to the east into the oak stand before others arrived. We scoured the oak stand for the next 2 hours, and Josh and Julian each got a brief encounter. However this bird was an escape artist and mostly quiet besides 1 or 2 whits it would occasionally give, and we could never refind it or be sure of where it moved to. At one point, all three of us heard a clear whit in between us and we still couldn’t even get a glimpse. Overall, based on the recordings, initial observations, and corroboration with Julian and Josh, I am comfortable calling this a Dusky.
Technical information
- Recorder
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 466.88 KB