Everyone A lot of people have been asking me about this bird, so thought I should provide an update even though the "review process" is far from finished.
At the time of observation no one considered either Yellow-bellied or Acadian as candidates for this bird, thus our thought processes were 100% flawed right from the start. In the field I was trying to ID the bird in reverse .... not Gray, not Dusky, not Western, not Least, thus the bird must be Hammond's. Flawed logic, obviously. Once at home where I could view my photos in detail, and do some research, it was clear that the bird was obviously not a Hammond's Flycatcher. My attention was then directed to other species, especially Acadian. I then sent numerous photographs to several people across North America with extensive knowledge on empidonax identification. I thought this was going to be a simple exercise. Not true! Several were strongly in favour of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, others strongly in favour of Acadian (including myself). One person provided an extremely detailed analysis as to why the bird was most certainly a Western Flycatcher. But quickly thereafter at least two participants said the bird was most definitely NOT a Western Flycatcher! Not so easy, is it? Late today Peter Pyle came through with a very thorough and convincing tome stating why the bird is most certainly a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Included are details that definitely (apparently) eliminate Western Flycatcher. But I should stress that most other participants have yet to comment on Peter's analysis, thus there is always the possibility that the likely ID as Yellow-bellied Flycatcher could change. But until further notice the bird should be considered a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. As for seeing the bird, I heard second-hand that an individual today was unable to relocate the bird after a 1.5 hour search. Thus the bird has either died (unlikely) or simply moved to a different section within the massive forest in which it was found. Please do not ask to see my photos, although I might post a couple to the OFO website in a few days. I have already spent too much time of this. Along with the finder of the bird, I expect to publish an article on this record for Ontario Birds. Thus photos will be published in due time. Rather amazing that for a bird with plenty of superb photos that it would be so hard to identify. Certainly a lesson learned -- winter empidonax are a royal pain! Anyone finding an empidonax in winter (or late fall) in Ontario should be prepared to take dozens of good photos and/or record the bird if it is calling. Otherwise you might be up the creek without an ID. 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
