Hi all,
After looking (unsuccessfully) for the Black-backed Woodpecker reported by
Doug Robinson at the Marys Peak campground earlier today, I continued to
the summit to check for Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (I found two very
confiding ones in the road just below the summit). Coming back to the
parking lot, I heard an unfamiliar finch call from the trees along the east
slope - a somewhat tanager-like, sharp, two-syllable "quip-quip,
quip-quip". Scanning the treeline, I spotted a bulky, finch-looking bird
perched on a tree at a distance, but it was badly backlit and I couldn't
make out any details (however, it appeared to be reddish, and the shape and
size were consistent with a PIGR). Before I got close enough to take
photos, it flew, giving the same call I had heard before. At the time, I
thought it sounded like a possible Pine Grosbeak, but I am not very
familiar with their calls. Unfortunately, my phone battery had died just
before I heard the bird, so I couldn't double-check in the field. Back
home, I checked the usual resources (Macaulay, XenoCanto, etc.), and what I
heard on the peak was a very close match to certain PIGR calls (XC54308
<https://www.xeno-canto.org/54308> sounds almost exactly like what I
heard). Based on what I saw and heard, I am now certain my bird was indeed
a Pine Grosbeak. So keep your eyes (and ears) open if you head up there!
Happy fall birding
Hendrik
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__________________________
Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
*"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." -- Gary Snyder*
