[obol] Malheur area Wed. morning

From: Wayne Hoffman <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>
To: obol <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 16:56:54 -0700
Hi -

Horned Grebe Substation pond on Hwy 205 S of Burns

Dowitcher on substation pond.  Severely backlit, but looked like
Short-billed.
lower belly looked whitish, chest light chestnut, not as dark as should be
on LB.

RN Phalarope:   150+ on shallow pond along 205 at mm19, N. of Narrows.

HQ, 7:30 - 10 AM
apparently no Black and White, no vireos at all seen

Warblers:
Yellow
Townsend's
Orange-crowned (new?)
Wilson's

A couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets apparently were new.

Still present:  Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks, Black-headed Grosbeaks,
Bullock's Orioles, Western Tanagers, Cedar Waxwings, Western Wood Pewee...

Good day for studying silent empids:  they were tending to be approachable
and staying low, out of the wind.  Not a lot of individuals but remarkable
diversity.  They were mostly in the lilacs and other low cover along the
unpaved road at the south edge, also along the hedge leading from the
visitors' center to the restrooms.

"Western"
Hammond's
Dusky
Willow
Gray

The Gray flew in and lit next to a "Western" then both went out into sage.
What a contrast!


Note about "Western" flycatchers.  These birds (2-3+) were silent, as were
all the other empids.  Birders there were tending to call them "Pacific
Slope" but I prefer not for the following reasons:
1.  I am not questioning the split - IMO it is valid until proven otherwise.
2.  Malheur HQ is not much farther from Cordilleran breeding range than
from Pacific-Slope breeding range.
3.  Malheur HQ collects vagrants from the east, including Rock Mountain
taxa.

Therefore, I consider the probability that some are Cordilleran high enough
 that I do not want to assume they are all Pacific-Slope.  At least until I
get my field-portable DNA sequencer!

I left at 10, and now am in Lakeview, on my way to Klamath Basin.

Wayne
[obol] Malheur area Wed. morning

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