FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

["Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Today I saw an unusual bird in the tree next to our deck. It was flying from
branch to branch, and as it flew, it flapped its wings so rapidly that it
reminded me of a hummingbird. However, this bird was slightly larger than a
hummingbird, and it was much too fat looking for a hummingbird. It had
markings similar to a junco - gray on the top, and light color on his
underside, which seemed somewhat yellow. It had a long beak and a black eye.
There were some darker gray and white feathers near the rear of the bird. I
told Anne about it and she thought it was a mockingbird. I told her it was
much too small - smaller than a wren and slightly smaller than a chickadee.
I looked in Peterson's book about it and found a bird called a blue-gray
gnatcatcher. It seemed to have the right colors and the right type of beak.
The description said it looks like a little mockingbird. I looked it up in
Sibley's and the bird looked very much like what I saw, but it had no black
marking above its eye, which seems to indicate to me a female.

 

However, both Peterson and Sibley said that the bird was a summer bird - the
year-round purple area in both books went up the coast only as far as about
Myrtle Beach. So was it a blue-gray gnatcatcher? It happened too quickly for
me to get a picture of it. If so, is this a sign of global warming, as is
the cherry tree which blossomed this week, whereas in past years, it
blossomed in March?

 

Jim Blowers