Saturday was clear and sunny and many of us were out birding. Among other places, I checked out the south shore trail at Mitchell's Bay. An Eastern Screech-Owl was soaking up some early morning sun.
Down at Rondeau, Steve Charbonneau was checking out south point trail and came across a flycatcher. Any flycatcher this time of year (other than perhaps Eastern Phoebe) is worthy of close scrutiny.
It was a yellowy-green bird, much like a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. It was assumed to be that species initially (which would be incredible). The only other possibility was Western Flycatcher!
Western Flycatcher has a history. Way back when, it was separated into Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Cordilleran Flycatcher. Just in the last year, the two were lumped again into Western Flycatcher!
There are practically no records of this critter in the east, let alone Ontario. It is a look-alike to Yellow-bellied, but subtle differences can be seen.
Steve's photos were examined by some Ontario birders, and it was suggested that this may in fact be a Western Flycatcher. Uh-oh, better get some better looks and re-evaluate the situation!
Sunday morning, Steve and other birders were on site and found the subject bird once again. It was quite co-operative and Josh Vandermuelen managed some excellent photos. See here 📷:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S155271196
Several birders saw his photos and were quite convinced that this was indeed a Western Flycatcher. Of course final ruling will be by the OBRC next spring.
Meanwhile, I was at Rondeau Sunday morning, but was well out marsh trail. It was a calm, clear and crisp morning, and I simply wanted to go for a long walk. Some ice had formed overnight.
There were birds to look at along the way, but nothing unusual.
A couple of tardy Gray Catbirds were taking advantage of some berries.
I went as far as Long Pond, but the walk back was quite quick. It was quiet anyway, and I wanted to take a chance on seeing this flycatcher. I arrived at the site around 10:25, and saw Josh pointing to the bird along the trail. It was moving towards me and I got a look. After it went past me, I got some excellent looks, but my poor old camera was not quick enough to get photos. 😞
I was indeed thankful that I arrived to the site just in time, as it eventually disappeared and was not seen again. Weather actually changed quickly at that time as the sun disappeared and the wind picked up, so maybe that had some bearing. It was not seen at all today, despite a thorough search by many intrepid birders. The weather was not all that great to boot. 🌬
Perhaps it is hunkered down somewhere, but the weather today and tomorrow is certainly not a walk in the park (pun intended) for a flycatcher.
Vagrant flycatchers this time of year are in a fight for survival. Somewhere along the line, they made a wrong turn!
More times than not, they end up perishing. For example, the Cassin's Kingbird that Allen Woodliffe found off south point trail a few years ago was already deceased. ⚰
The Vermilion Flycatcher north of Wallaceburg back in 2015 (18 December-1 January) we assumed perished. We observed the bird on New Year's Day in snowy conditions. It was flying erratically that morning. It was never seen subsequently. Here is my photo of the unhappy bird:
Hopefully this Western Flycatcher can be refound for others to enjoy.
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