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gbotello
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Page Springs 2/13/09
Bird activitiy was high at Page Springs on 2/13/09.
Saw the following:
Abert's Towhee
American Coot
American Robin
American Wigeon
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Bewick's Wren
Black Crowned Night Heron
Black Phoebe
Canvasback
Common Merganser
European Starling
Gadwall
Gila Woodpecker
Great Blue Heron
Lincoln's Sparrow
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Oregon Junco
Pied Billed Grebe
Redhead
Redtailed Hawk
Red Winged Blackbird
Ring Necked Duck
Song Sparrow
Sora
Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Towhee
Verdin
White Crowned Sparrow
Yellow Rumped Warbler
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gbotello
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And then there is this guy...
I was walking down the road from the bridge over the river to the ponds. On the stretch of road between the small waterfall/creek that goes underneath
the road and the restaurant, I spotted what I believe to be a Winter Wren (a first for me), right along the road, just a few feet from me!
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Mark Stevenson
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Gary: nice find on the Winter Wren!
There has been a bumper crop of them statewide this winter with just short of 20 reported so far.
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MCMoore
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Gary,
Very nice shot of the winter wren. Tough guys to photograph. Do you have any views of the breast or throat? It would be nice to tell if this is an
eastern or western form, since they are likely to be split. The white spots on the back are suggestive of eastern.
Mike Moore
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gbotello
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Yes, the little guy would not sit still for very long...but, we are in luck. He did come out to play several times and I do have some shots of his
throat.
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gbotello
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another:
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gbotello
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Posts: 813
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another:
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gbotello
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I hope these help...THANKS!
Gary
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Ken
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2-15-09
My brother and I went birding down at Page Springs this morning, we looked for the Winter Wren but did not find it. We did see a Wilson's Warbler in
the thickets by the fish pond observation platform. This seems rather early to me but I'm not exactly sure when they normally start showing up in the
Verde Valley. Also saw two Orange-crowned Warblers, two Lesser Scaup (males) and a Virginia Rail.
Ken Murphy
Flagstaff, AZ
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gbotello
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Seems like an interesting day at Page Springs. I was also there this morning. I too struck out on the Winter Wren, but did see an Orange Crowned
Warbler & a
female Phainopepla (I was thinking that it was early for this species).
Other than that, I pretty much saw everything that I saw on Friday.
Gary
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Roger
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ken
2-15-09
We did see a Wilson's Warbler in the thickets by the fish pond observation platform. This seems rather early to me but I'm not exactly sure when they
normally start showing up in the Verde Valley. |
My early record for the Verde is April 22, so this bird seems exceptional.
Sex?
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Roger
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| Quote: | Originally posted by gbotello
a female Phainopepla (I was thinking that it was early for this species).
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PHAI have been numerous all winter in the Verde, so this bird is more late than early.
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Mark Stevenson
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ken
2-15-09
My brother and I went birding down at Page Springs this morning, we looked for the Winter Wren but did not find it. We did see a Wilson's Warbler in
the thickets by the fish pond observation platform. This seems rather early to me but I'm not exactly sure when they normally start showing up in the
Verde Valley. Also saw two Orange-crowned Warblers, two Lesser Scaup (males) and a Virginia Rail.
Ken Murphy
Flagstaff, AZ
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It makes me think that the Wilson's Warbler wintered locally.
Pretty high elevation and far north for that bird in AZ in winter, so it's a very good find.
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Ken
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Location: University Heights, Flagstaff
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Roger
| Quote: | Originally posted by ken
2-15-09
We did see a Wilson's Warbler in the thickets by the fish pond observation platform. This seems rather early to me but I'm not exactly sure when they
normally start showing up in the Verde Valley. |
My early record for the Verde is April 22, so this bird seems exceptional.
Sex? |
This bird was very bright and boldly marked, I'd say male.
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Ken
Guru
Posts: 219
Registered: 19-9-2005
Location: University Heights, Flagstaff
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Mood: I'd rather be birding
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mark Stevenson
| Quote: | Originally posted by ken
2-15-09
My brother and I went birding down at Page Springs this morning, we looked for the Winter Wren but did not find it. We did see a Wilson's Warbler in
the thickets by the fish pond observation platform. This seems rather early to me but I'm not exactly sure when they normally start showing up in the
Verde Valley. Also saw two Orange-crowned Warblers, two Lesser Scaup (males) and a Virginia Rail.
Ken Murphy
Flagstaff, AZ
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It makes me think that the Wilson's Warbler wintered locally.
Pretty high elevation and far north for that bird in AZ in winter, so it's a very good find. |
At the time I was thinking that too, perhaps this little guy has been here all winter...
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gbotello
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Any verdict on that Winter Wren?
Gary
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Mark Stevenson
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| Quote: | Originally posted by gbotello
Any verdict on that Winter Wren?
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To quote from Peter Pyle's Identification Guide to North American Birds:
"Winter Wren: Geographic Variation--weak to moderate and differences are obscured by broad intergradation and individual variation."
I think the calls are more reliable (and even then not 100% so) for separating eastern and western subspecies. Plumage may not be reliable for
separating them unless there have been advances in knowledge since Pyle published.
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Roger
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MCMoore
Do you have any views of the breast or throat? It would be nice to tell if this is an eastern or western form |
| Quote: | Originally posted by Mark Stevenson
Plumage may not be reliable for separating them |
Well, Gents, which is it? 
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MCMoore
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Hi,
I have sent this link to a few experts a while ago. So far 2 have leaned toward Eastern and 2 toward Western and one said that plumage is unreliable
for separating the forms.
Personally, I think the throat is too warm for a typical Eastern, but this bird is not as dark as some Pacific birds can get. This looks like kind of
a "tweener"' to me.
I think all of this reinforces Mark's point that they probably cannot be separated on plumage alone or only in the case of more extreme birds. It is
very important to hear the call. Since they will likely be split in the future, it is important to get a handle on the differences and to look
carefully at all Winter Wrens. Reports this winter suggest that the Eastern form may be more common in Arizona than previously thought and we need
more data. Listen to the differences in the calls on the AZFO web site:
http://www.azfo.org/gallery/2009/html1/WIWR_Mesa_Moore_20090124.htm...
Mike Moore
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gbotello
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I seem to stumble on all the quiet birds that end up with "no verdict". Oh well, at least we know it was a Winter Wren!
Gary
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