Re: Leucocistic Brewer's BB? at Coddle Creek Res.

[Harry Legrand <harry.legrand@ncmail.net>]

I assume that Tom meant Red-winged Blackbird. Brewer's Blackbirds are
very rare in NC even in the cooler months, and would be a complete shock
to be here in midsummer. Most summer reports of Brewer's or Rusty
blackbirds can be attributable to juvenile Common Grackles. I can't
explain "accompanied by a female of the species", as grackles look about
the same, male and female. That is why he must have misspoke and the
birds are Red-wingeds.

Quite a few birders in NC have never seen a Brewer's in the state, and
so I think some clarification is in order.

Harry LeGrand

Tomm Lorenzin wrote:
> 
> My daughter and I heard first - then spotted - a Brewer's Blackbird with a
> white or cream shoulder patch on right wing where the RWBB's epaulet would
> be.  He was distinguished by his dinstinctive call, AND accompanied by a
> female of the species.  We saw and heard him several times yesterday near
> noon in the nearby trees near and S of the Hwy 136 bridge. Please let me
> know if anyone else spots this distinctively marked Brewer's BB.  We never
> got a view of his left side, so we do not know if the white patch is
> symmetrically located on the bird.  It was evident both while he was at rest
> and while in flight.
> 
> Also present:
> 
> Great Egrets
> Green Heron
> Blue Grosbeak
> clouds of noisy Cliff Swallows (and a few Barn Swallows, too)
> Dbl-crested Cormorant
> Am. Black Ducks
> E. Kingbird
> the resident Ospreys, including a nest-edge sitting and calling juvenile
> and a host of the more usual suspects.
> 
> Tomm "naughty boy" Lorenzin
> Mooresville (Lake Norman), 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