An "Easy" Empid

The Pacific-slope Flycatcher's scientific name is Empidonax difficilis, but I think that's a bit unfair because almost all of the flycatchers in the genus Empidonax (commonly known as "Empids") are difficult to identify. Empids are generally very similar, and very unremarkable. That is part of why it was exciting to find a lifer Empid today. Craig Fosdick and I were hiking in High Creek in search of Dusky Grouse. I had seen several of this species on a hike on the same trail on the same day last year, so I thought it would be worth trying the same place again. We didn't find the Dusky Grouse, unfortunately, but we did see many good birds including two migrating Townsend's Warblers, and Craig did a great job of pishing in an angry flock of Mountain Chickadees, including the one shown in the photo above. But the highlight was the Gray Flycatcher. I've been trying to get better at identifying flycatchers in this notoriously difficult genus, but this bird was relatively easy to identify because of its behavior. Empids all flick their tails upwards, except for this species, which wags its tail gently downwards. We did see several other field marks which confirmed the identification, but this slight difference in behavior was the most convincing, allowing me to add another species to my county year list and to my life list.

The Walk Home

Trying to see 200 birds in Cache County this year has changed several of my day-to-day habits. I almost always have a pair of binoculars in my pocket. I don't listen to my mp3 player if I'm outside (so I can hear birds). And now, I take a new route walking to and from school. My new route takes me past the Logan Cemetery, which I think will be better habitat for finding birds than the apartments and homes along my old route.

The cemetery has been productive so far - I found my first Brown Creeper there a while ago, and I've been seeing other cool birds there lately, including Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings (the photo today is of one of these Cedar Waxwings), a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a Merlin. Yesterday I found another first for the year on my walk home, although it was after the cemetery in a stand of trees near USU's Romney Stadium. I heard a raspy, weak chickadee call that I thought sounded like a Mountain Chickadee (I've mostly been seeing Black-capped Chickadees lately, especially in the valley). I went to get a closer look and was able to find three Mountain Chickadees, plus my first Red-breasted Nuthatch of the year.