[TN-Bird] Re: Murfree Spring Wetland - odd [Yellow-bellied?] flycatcher
- From: Terry Witt <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: hyla514@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 15:01:52 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Daniel
I have seen YB Flycatcher in Mboro a few times but not at Discovery Center yet.
It is a rare to uncommon migrant around here, though part of that may be due
to
difficulty in identifying silent birds, and the fact that it is frequently
rather difficult to see well. In addition, most singing birds are seen in
spring, and are late migrants when there are fewer birders in the field. The
habitat at Discovery Center does offer a fine place for one to show up, and
sooner or later I expect to see one there. I have seen Willow, Least, and
Olive-sided there in the past. In addition, there is an old record from
Nashville for YB Flycatcher from August 8! What I don't like is the
vocalization. YB Flycatcher gives a call not unlike a Least Flycatcher, a 2
note Chbek, not quite as abrupt. The song is reminiscent of the first past of
E
Wood Pewee. Neither of these match at all what you heard, I don't have a clue
as to your birds identity. Perhaps someone else may offer an idea
Cheers
Terry Witt
Murfreesboro Tn
________________________________
From: Daniel Estabrooks <hyla514@xxxxxxxxx>
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, August 9, 2011 11:29:23 AM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Murfree Spring Wetland - odd [Yellow-bellied?] flycatcher
8/9/11
Murfree Spring Wetland
Rutherford Co.
With about an hour of free time at my disposal yesterday, I did a quick
run-through of the wetland around the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro, on the
off chance that I might run into something of interest. As it turns out, I did
see an odd flycatcher that was giving a very loud call that sounded a little
bit
like the classic "what-cheer" call you'd hear from a cardinal. (The "ch" sound
in the middle was not as pronounced as a cardinal though, if that makes any
sense.) Anyway, I listened to the call for several minutes and ignored it,
assuming that it was just a cardinal.
In any case, I saw the bird for about a minute from the back before it flew
away. It had strong wing bars and generally looked like a pewee, but the
primary
projection seemed too short for a pewee and I've never heard a pewee give a
call like that. Upon consultation of a few field guides, I see that
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (a bird I have zero personal experience with) gives a
similar call to what I heard. I'm just curious if anyone has seen
yellow-bellies
at the wetland before and/or if the timing is even right for a migrant
yellow-belly to be here. I apologize for my ignorance. I'm a western birder who
hasn't quite figured out all the eastern birds that people around here probably
take for granted :-)
Daniel Estabrooks
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