Dusky-capped Returns

There are a lot of things I'd normally consider blog-worthy going on around here, lately, but we've been so busy getting into the Christmas spirit that we haven't talked about them here, yet.

I'm sure you're very disappointed.

Nevertheless, I won't be cowed by your apparent indifference, and intend to make a stab at catching up. Let's go chronologically, shall we? Let's see...

Last week on Tuesday I went birding in Creek Park like I occasionally will do on a Tuesday, and was wandering about the eucalyptus grove there in search of birds of all sorts, when what to my wondering ears should I hear? The mournful weeping call of a Flycatcher! Here! I listened intently and heard it call several more times, but I couldn't really believe my ears. Was I really hearing what I thought I was hearing? So I started scrambling around, trying to trace the calls to their source, but they seemed to move all around me, and pretty soon I had to go to work.

You might remember how a Dusky-capped Flycatcher spent last winter in La Mirada near our apartment - I posted about it early last March. It was a pretty rare bird, then, but it's an even rarer bird, now. While many rare Arizona/Mexican birds will winter in California in subsequent years (Thick-billed Kingbirds and Painted Redstarts, especially), there is only one previous record of a Dusky-capped Flycatcher returning for a consecutive winter in California, ever. I was pretty sure it was very unlikely, before I knew that (I asked someone I thought would know) so I just had to check again. Libby and I visited the grove during lunch that day without luck, and a rain storm was coming in, so I was afraid I'd be unable to document it for awhile.

Thankfully, last Wednesday dawned partly cloudy and dry after a night of rain, so I took off early for work and slipped and waded around the grove in thick slimy muck for awhile before finally hearing the call, and subsequently, seeing the bird! It's definitely the same sort of bird as last year. Since it's much more likely it's the same bird exercising sight fidelity (like most migrants) than a totally new bird finding the exactly same 4 acres of marginal wintering habitat, it's gotta be the second record of a Dusky-capped Flycatcher wintering two years in a row. Cool!

I have to wonder what the bird's been through in between stays here. Where did it spend the summer? Did it make it back to its normal haunts? Its navigation system is obviously broken, so who knows?

It was too dark on Wednesday for photos, but I got two documentary videos that I've put up on Flickr. One is a really bad shaky one of the bird itself and one is just a video of the call (since I don't have a pure recording device). I believe the video of the call is a more helpful record for documentary purposes since the voice of this kind of flycatcher is very distinctive.

Tune in later this week for updates on Thanksgiving, and a neat hike! Adios!