[obol] Re: 4 Possible Black-backed Wagtails in South Beach (Lincoln Co.)
- From: Range Bayer <range.bayer@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Jeff Gilligan <jeffgilligan10@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 20:39:08 -0800
Hi,
Neal reports that they were not Gray Jays. These birds had clear
black bibs that Gray Jays don't have.
Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon
On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 8:26 PM, Jeff Gilligan <jeffgilligan10@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I am not usually the first to caste doubt, but the description and other
> factors make lead me to consider the possibility of these birds be being
> Black-backed White Wagtails as being highly dubious. I have seen many White
> Wagtails on four continents (including many of the Black-backed race in Asia
> and some in North America). They would appear much smaller than a
> Steller's Jay. I have never seen one land in a tree. Two at a bird bath,
> and then the four flew away together….I suspect that they were Gray Jays.
> An old friend and bird expert once categorically declared that a bird
> reported near Portland on OBOL was certainly mis-identified, and later had
> to eat crow by his own statement. I will take the same leap and serve up
> corvid on Thanksgiving if these are confirmed to be wagtails.
>
> Hoping for turkey in two days, though I still covet White Wagtail in Oregon.
>
> Jeff Gilligan
>
> Green Valley, AZ at the present.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 26, 2013, at 5:33 PM, Range Bayer <range.bayer@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Neal Coenen just called. At about 1 PM today (Nov. 26), he saw 4 very
>> birds that were unlike any he had seen before. They were not chunky,
>> and he tentatively identified them as Black-backed Wagtails from his
>> National Geographic book. A Steller's Jay was nearby and interacting
>> with them, and they seemed to be slightly smaller than the jay but he
>> did not study this. 2 birds were perched in an elderberry tree that
>> had lost all of its leaves, and 2 were at a bird bath. All 4 looked
>> identical and were together. Each had a black bill, white above bill
>> that partially went around the sides of head, a black streak through
>> the eye that went to black on back of head, black on crown that merged
>> with black on back of head, some white under the bill and eye and then
>> a black bib that extended to the middle of the breast, rest of breast
>> white, back was black, black feathers at the end of the wingtips, and
>> black on tail (did not notice if had white outer tail feathers). He
>> did not get a photograph. They all flew off together shortly after he
>> saw them. As of 4:15 PM, they have not returned.
>>
>> He saw them near his home in South Beach. Unfortunately, the area is
>> private with a private road, and neighbors would not appreciate
>> nonresidents visiting. If they return he will report them to me.
>>
>> Hopefully they will show up again in a place that is more accessible.
>>
>> --
>> Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon
>>
>>
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