After taking a look at all of my photos, and doing some preliminary research, I've concluded that the bird is NOT a Hammond's Flycatcher.
However, I am now fairly positive as to what the bird is, but I would prefer to do more research and send off my photos to some experts for their opinion. Possibly I will have answers later tonight, otherwise it will be late tomorrow night. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- From: "Alan Wormington" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: [Ontbirds] Likely **Hammond's Flycatcher** at Cedar Creek/Kingsville, Essex Count y Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2015 19:39:52 GMT This morning Jim Burk (with Keith Burk) found an empidonax flycatcher on the Cedar Creek CBC. Keith stayed with the bird, while Jim met me and took me back to the bird. I am fairly certain that the bird is a Hammond's Flycatcher, keeping in mind that winter empidonax are extremely difficult to ID. The bird is very petite, short-tailed, it has a more-or-less roundish eye-ring, and a very short stubby bill. Others have seen photos and have suggested "Western" Flycatcher (Pacific Slope/Cordillean), but there are a few things that do not seem to match that species. Most importantly, the bird seems to have an extremely long primary projection. And it seems to lack the "tear-drop" at the rear of the eye-ring. I have yet to really look at my photos closely, or much reference material. The bird is fairly "green" but I've noticed that winter empidonax often look like this -- presumably due to winter lighting and/or being immature. The bird seemed to be 100% oblivious to our presence, thus we were able to get extremely close to it and thus were able to get dozens of full-frame photos. I will be sending these out to experts later today. The location is PRIVATE PROPERTY. Before reading the directions below, might be best to pull up Google Maps. I took the following numbers off Google Maps showing the exact spot, but I have no clue what these numbers mean: 42.021034, -82.833098 We do not know what the situation is at this time, re access. But there are two options: OPTION 1: West of Kingsville, on Road 20 (formerly 18?) at the intersection with Arner Town Line (Arner), turn left onto Arner Town Line (Road 23). After crossing the water and going some distance south there will be a reddish house on the left (actually the first house on the left). On the other side of the road (west side), there is a sandy laneway that says "Keep Out" or something similar. This laneway is adjacent to the tiny woodlot and (I think) an old building in the woodlot (I forgot to take notes). Park somewhere along the road (limited space). Then walk due west down the laneway for about 1/2 of a km or so until you reach the massive oak/hickory forest. When you get to the forest, the bird was feeding along the edge of the forest in the thickets to the south for about 100+ metres or so. Later it was feeding INSIDE the forest, maybe 50 metres in max from the edge. Note that OPTION 1 might be shut down quickly if the owner is not friendly. In contrast, if the owner is friendly it might even be possible to drive down this laneway. Anyone looking for the bird MUST talk to anyone they encounter here who is not a birder, to determine what the situation is (or could be). OPTION 2: The woodlot is owned by the Scout Camp. Again driving south on Arner Townline, after crossing the water take an immediate right into the Scout Camp proper. The house of the left I believe is the manager's house, and someone will need to confirm that it is ok to go into the woods. In past years we used to do mothing here, and they were very accommodating. Once in the camp, you will need to bush-wack through the woods to the location of the bird. *IF* Option 1 is shut down, you will need to stay INSIDE the woodlot at all times, to ensure that you do not trespass onto the adjacent farmland. All week I have been telling friends that someone in southern Ontario was going to find an empidonax flycatcher this weekend. WOW what a prediction! Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
