Hi -
I also agree - look at the southern species,but I would also note that a couple
of decades ago, any January records of swallows of any species would have been
treated as incredible.
Since about 2000 we have had what, 4? 5? species of swallows well-documented in
December and January, and 2 (Tree and Barn) are now pretty regular.
So why not one more for the Climate Change list?
If the bird was completely dark on the underparts, Purple Martin and Southern
Martin would be the possibilities. If it was paler below (like female Purple
Martin), also consider Brown-chested Martin, which has occurred multiple times
in the US, and Gray-breasted Martin.
Wayne
From: "Jeff Gilligan" <jeffgilligan10@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Hendrik Herlyn" <hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Cody W. Smith" <kingsalmon92@xxxxxxxxx>, "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 6:33:43 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Very surprising bird at Fern Ridge WA today
I hadn't seen Hendrik's post before I made mine…but I agree.
On Jan 20, 2016, at 5:29 PM, Hendrik Herlyn < hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx > wrote:
Hi Cody and all,
A Purple Martin in January would be a very rare sighting, indeed. Makes me
wonder if we can totally discount one of the Central or South American martin
species? A Southern Martin in Oregon - why not?! :)
A very intriguing sighting, at any rate!
Hendrik
On Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 5:01 PM, Cody W. Smith < kingsalmon92@xxxxxxxxx >
wrote:
BQ_BEGIN
Hello all,
Today I was out hunting at the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area in the West Coyote
Unit. Around 10:00 a bird flew by me that was swallow-like and my first thought
was that I had seen a barn swallow. Upon observing it flying around about 5
meters off of the water I immediately recognized it as too large to be a barn
swallow. I am almost completely certain that what I observed was a PURPLE
MARTIN.
Purple Martins are a species that I am quite familiar with and can recognize
easily. It had a forked tail and longer wings, swallow-like flight and
appearance, and an overall uniformly dark body (however the lighting did not
make it easy to distinguish the iridescent purple coloration). I did not hear
it give any vocalizations. It was too large to be a similar Swallow species
such as tree or barn and did not appear to be nor behave like a European
Starling. (Any other species I should consider as possibilities are definitely
welcome)
When I got home I started looking at eBird records and see that there are no
listed observations of Purple Martins in January at all. Possibly this was an
injured bird that got stuck here? If this is, indeed, a Purple Martin it would
definitely be a good record.
--
My Kindest Personal Regards,
Cody W. Smith
p 541-788-7269
--
__________________________
Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."
-- Gary Snyder
BQ_END
