Another week of relative social distancing and mostly missing birding with friends. I did venture down to Wahkiakum County to visit Alcyon Farm and Andrew Emlen, get out birding and record a Bird Banter episode with him. What a cool and incredibly interesting and ecelectic guy. Check out the Skamokawa Swamp Opera band he plays in. I’ll include a You Tube video here for kicks. My best bird there was Yellow-breasted Chat. Two singing males actually. How about you? Leave a comment and help us all stay in touch. Ed
How cool is this. Singing birders. Swamp Opera???
Well that was an unexpected and pleasant sidetrip! Thanks Ed.
Re best bird, several years ago I had a “mystery” bird calling in the distance. I finally got eyes on it and discovered it was an Olive-sided Flycatcher NOT doing its “quick 3 beers” call. Fast forward to earlier this week at Fort Steilacoom Park, 2 Red-breasted Woodpeckers (one following the other) fly right over my head from behind me and land in trees 100 yds away. Shortly thereafter I hear a PIP, followed a little later by another near the very trees the RBSP disappeard into. Could it be them???? I quickly dismissed that and had to clear the cobwebs out….I think it might be an Olive-side Flycatcher as 1, then 2, then several more Crows started to fly into the same grove of tall firs in the midst of the meadow. The PIPS became louder and more frequent….and then return PIPS. I saw 8-10 Crows mobbing something high in the fir trees, and 2 smaller birds chasing them away. Looked like OSFLs….and then one gave a quick giveaway, ie “quick 3 beers”. Hopefully that 2nd lesson will cement their call in my brain. I heard it again a couple of days later. BTW: the Crows seemed to tire of the “sport” (nest robbing?) and left as a group shortly thereafter.
I camped at Ft. Flagler for a few days last week. The non-whit calls of Swainson’s Thrush kept me guessing all week. Getting to know the variety of calls of our common birds is a never ending but stimulating game. Learn something new every day. Thanks.
Talk about weird sounds. Last summer as dusk was falling, i heard the most scratchy raucous noise coming from SW of our house. I grabbed my bins as i went out, walking quietly to below the house to the drainfield. I looked up into the madrone from whence the noise came and spotted a BAOW sitting calmly and silently on a branch. About a yard behind it squawked an enraged Swainson’s Thrush, yes, a member of the species with one of most ethereal songs of the NW summers! I couldn’t believe the language i was hearing coming out of that bird’s beak. I never would have guessed a Swainson’s Thrush could make such an ugly sound. I deeply regret that i did not grabbed my phone so i could have recorded it.