I went out this morning to listen for the pewee again. It was there in the high
canopy, uttering that soft "pe-dee" as before. Then it obligingly flew down and
sat on top of a fence post about thirty feet from me. Other than a grayish
throat set off somewhat from the darker breast, I couldn't see any plumage
features suggesting it was anything other than a Western Wood Pewee. While on
the post, it gave about ten one-note calls that sounded more like the typical,
harsh "peeeer" of a Western. Then it flew back up into the canopy, where it
began interspersing the "pe-dee" and "peeeer" calls. I still would not say the
calls are prototypical of a Western Wood Pewee, but they certainly are not
prototypical of an Eastern. I think what is happening here is that I have been
hearing a first summer bird which has not yet perfected the normal
vocalizations for the species. I remember that one time some years ago,
starting in about Februrary, I kept hearing some kind of sparrow sing from deep
inside a blackberry patch. The song was a trill rather reminiscent of a Field
Sparrow. I searched for that bird for almost a month before it finally showed
itself, and to my surprise, it turned out to be a Song Sparrow. Over the next
few weeks the song evolved from a simple trill to one mixed with some more
typical Song Sparrow notes. By April the bird's song was entirely typical. So
anyway, as far as I'm concerned the pewee mystery is solved.
Darrel
