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.

Catching Up

Today I was trying to catch up on being out of town for the last two weeks for my research. My two biggest finds for the day were two Stilt Sandpipers (one is shown above, with a dowitcher) and three Whimbrel. These are both lifers for me, and both are very rare species for the area. My friend Keith, who has been birding in Cache Co. for over 20 years, says that he's only heard of two or three Stilt Sandpipers in that time, and Whimbrel also only about once every five years. Another highlight was a male Townsend's Warbler at Rendezvous Park. This species is generally a fall migrant in Utah and is pretty much unheard of in spring in Utah from what I have been able to find out.

I was also able to find a Bobolink that had been reported online, but I think I missed my shot at the Lewis's Woodpecker and Dunlin, at least this time around. Who knows, maybe more will show up, but it is quite possible that I won't get another chance at those two species this year. There are still several species that are around which I'm missing (see the growing "Coming Up Next" list to the right). I think if I work at it, there is a chance I'll be able to hit 200 by the end of the weekend. If nothing else, I'd really like to get to 200 before I leave for more fieldwork.