Rob,
Unless the BC Chickadee was drunk or going through puberty it wasn't
the bird that I heard. I listened to Stokes audio of BC Chickadee
again, but not even close. I have dozens of Chickadees at the farm
that have been singing spring songs since the third week of January.
I can safely say that I hear BC Chickadees vocalizing everyday
(except during the blizzards) and so I have become familiar with a
variety of BC Chick talk. I am able to differentiate Boreal by call,
so I am pretty confident in my perception of subtle vocal nuance.
This bird called "Pee-youuueee!(ascending)....Peeyou (flat -
descending) the call was a somewhat slurred, rich whistle. To me the
Chickadee call is a clean, clear and somewhat nasal "Feebeee, Feebee"
with very little variation of tone.
Rob, how far is Winnipeg? Can you see any bits of dirt or clumps of
dead grass yet? Happy 1st day of Spring, I'm sending a few N.
Harrier's up for you! I saw them in Beltrami county along US 2 today
and they were headed in a north-westerly direction.
Kelly Larson
The Bagley Farm -Clearwater
The Bemidji Loft -Beltrami
Minnesota
Eschew Obfuscation!
The middle of Nowhere is Somewhere!
On Mar 20, 2009, at 9:27 PM, Rob Parsons wrote:
Hi Kelly,
By a really strange coincidence, a birder on the North Dakota bird
e-group also reported a (heard only) pewee at virtually the same
time as you
reported yours to the MOU e-group. He has now decided he heard the
spring
song of the Black-capped Chickadee. You mention you considered
starlings &
phoebes--did you also consider a chickadee as the unseen singer?
If not,
check it on the Stokes recording you mentioned.
Cheers,
Rob Parsons
Winnipeg, MB
CANADA
[email protected]
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