All,
Hannah and I had an Empid in the horticulture gardens on the far East side
on campus today. Given the time of year, a weird vagrant is always
something to consider, but our observations of the bird gave us Least or
Dusky Flycatcher vibes. We will attempt to look for it tomorrow morning
again. My field notes are as follows:
"Small, compact bird with green back and contrastingly pale white breast
and belly. Little to no yellow wash on flanks. No contrasting green between
head and body - both appeared to be the same color. 2 bright white
wingbars. Bold eye ring, but not a good enough look to really discern if it
was complete and/or notched. Bill somewhat large for an empid with
completely orange lower mandible. Large, blocky head, sometimes with
feathers slightly raised, giving an even larger appearance. Could not get
an accurate assessment of tail length or primary projection. Very active
while we observed it, constantly flying amongst the juniper and
cypress/redwood on the far East end by the entrance to the garden with the
umbrella and table. Sometimes a slight tail bob/flick, similar to phoebe
but not as regular. Impression in the field was LEFL or DUFL."
Thanks,
Joe Girgente
2015 B.S. ME
2020 B.S. WLC