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RE: winter Myiarchus flycatchers



 The Great-crested Flycatcher was seen in the edge a mixed woodlot along
Milltail road, adjacent to an open field. 

Eric Harrold

-----Original Message-----
From: Harry Legrand
To: Brad Carlson
Cc: Harrold, Eric S; carolinabirds@duke.edu
Sent: 12/10/01 9:07 AM
Subject: Re: winter Myiarchus flycatchers

Regarding winter Myiarchus flycatchers:

There ARE several records of Great Crested Flycatcher in NC in winter. I
saw and heard one on Roanoke I. years ago on the Bodie-Pea CBC. Allen
Bryan had one on the Morehead City CBC a decade or more ago that lots of
us saw later in the day. There are a few other reports, as well. The two
birds I can vouch for were in or at the edge of forests, and were
perching 20-40 feet off the ground. The color was too bright for
Brown-crested Flycatcher, and the lower mandible had pinkish and the
bill was not overly long. Ash-throated or other smaller Myiarchus
weren't really options -- not bright enough, in woods, a little too
large, etc. This species winters regularly over much of Florida, at
least the southern half, so perhaps it isn't too surprising that some
linger into December.

Ash-throated has been found in NC about 5-6 times now, mainly in late
fall and early winter. These tend to occur in fields, open habitat on
fences, etc.

Brown-crested hasn't been reported for certain in NC, though there was a
possible or probable sighting a few years ago.

However, the habitat for the Great-crested at Alligator River NWR wasn't
reported. If the bird were in the woods or wooded edge, in the canopy,
I'd agree with Great Crested. If the bird were in a field (LOTS of
fields at ARNWR) such as perching on a bush or a fence in the open, I'd
suspect Ash-throated. Brown-crested also would be expected in wooded
habitats, perching well off the ground.

Can Eric get back to carolinabirds with info on habitat, location, etc.?
As hardly any of us have seen Ash-throated Fly. in NC, and no one has
seen Brown-crested in NC, we'd like some assurrance that the reported
Great Crested really WAS a Great Crested! Plus, people who are at the
refuge in the upcoming weeks might want to look for this bird, Great
Crested or not. 

Harry LeGrand

Brad Carlson wrote:
> 
> Eric:
> I was interested to read your coastal trip report.  Are you confident
of the
> identification of the Great-crested Flycatcher that you saw at
Alligator
> River NWR today?  This would be highly unusual at this time of year.
In
> fact, I believe it would be unprecedented, but I am not sure of that.
Last
> year, there were at least two reports of "Myiarchus" flycatchers in NC
in
> the November timeframe that turned out to be Ash-throated Flycatchers.
Was
> this possibility considered?
> -Brad Carlson
> Winterville, NC
> BradCarlson1@hotmail.com
> 
> >From: "Harrold, Eric S" <esharrol@email.uncc.edu>
> >To: "'carolinabirds@duke.edu'" <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
> >Subject: coastal trip highlights
> >Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2001 21:54:58 -0500
> >
> >Carolinabirders,
> >
> >The Blue Ridge Birders visited Mattamuskeet and Pea Island this
weekend and
> >were rewarded with a good mix of common and somewhat unusual birds.
> >Mattamuskeet was very different from my trip there 4 years ago as the
water
> >levels were very low with some impoundments nearly dried up. On
Friday the
> >causeway was fairly unproductive in the afternoon, but the road
behind the
> >lodge provided access to the waterfowl. We parked and walked down an
access
> >trail behind an impoundment and found:
> >Tundra Swan
> >Glossy Ibis
> >White Ibis
> >American Widgeon
> >Pintail
> >Mallards
> >Black Ducks
> >Great Egret
> >Green-winged Teal
> >
> >Unfortunately, we did not find the Tropical Kingbird at Oregon Inlet
on
> >Saturday morning but we did see all the "usual birds" in terms of
gulls,
> >pelicans, and cormorants.
> >
> >The blind along the road by North Pond permitted us to get great
looks at
> >all the waterfowl and others including:
> >Snow Goose
> >Pintail
> >Am. Widgeon
> >Green-winged Teal
> >Black Duck
> >Shovelers
> >Tundra Swan
> >Northern Harrier
> >Merlin
> >Snowy Egret
> >American Avocet
> >
> >A little farther down the road we saw:
> >Merlin
> >White Ibis
> >Northern Gannet
> >Piping Plover
> >Semipalmated Plover
> >Salt Marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
> >Savannah Sparrow
> >Sanderling
> >
> >Late evening at Bodie Island provided Greater Yellowlegs and a
Virginia
> >Rail.
> >
> >This morning before returning home, we stopped in at Alligator River
> >National Wildlife Refuge and birded along Milltail Road. In the "Land
of a
> >Zillion Harriers" we also saw Rough-legged Hawk, Bald Eagle, Prairie
> >Warbler, Great-crested Flycatcher, Bobwhite, and a host of common
species.
> >
> >A special "thank you" goes out to Jeff Lewis who was a willing and
> >resourceful guide for us on Saturday morning on Pea Island. Its great
to
> >bird with a local who is really on top of the birds in their area.
> >
> >Eric Harrold
> >Charlotte, NC
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
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-- 
Harry LeGrand
NC Natural Heritage Program
1615 MSC
Raleigh, NC 27699-1615
(919) 715-8687 (work)
FAX: 919-715-3085
e-mail: harry.legrand@ncmail.net