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Driving through Oregon and Washington without a field guide :( (1 Viewer)

Doc Duck

Well-known member
Couldn't find my Western States field guide before take-off, so when unsure, I'd better ask. Here are three puzzles, mostly my own fault for poor photo quality. One is a flycatcher of some sort, perched over the Rogue River (?) in Grant's Pass, OR. I tried to compensate for the back-light, but before I got to a good setting the bird had taken off. Two shots attached - one sharpish silhouette and one ever so slightly better lit but in poorer focus. Next come two birds spotted at Meta Lake, the one live spot in the dead zone on Mt. St. Helens (it was under deep snow when the blast happened). One is a flycatcher of some sort, perhaps Pacific Slope? Or Olive-sided? Should be a good enough shot, but there's the problem of traveling without a field guide :S. The other I spotted waaaaay way off on the tip of a standing dead tree, just across Meta Lake. When I crop in, the tail seems to indicate a woodpecker of some sort, but no red patches, so perhaps a Northern flicker? yellow-shafted? I was hearing a red-tailed hawk in the vicinity, but balancing on its tail like that isn't what hawks do, is it?
 

Attachments

  • What flycatcher is this, Grants Pass, OR.jpg
    What flycatcher is this, Grants Pass, OR.jpg
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  • Same bird, tried some light compensation.jpg
    Same bird, tried some light compensation.jpg
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  • mystery flycatcher at Meta Lake, Mt. St. Helens, WA.jpg
    mystery flycatcher at Meta Lake, Mt. St. Helens, WA.jpg
    222.7 KB · Views: 63
  • Flikker, perhaps, at Meta Lake, Mt. St. Helens, WA.JPG
    Flikker, perhaps, at Meta Lake, Mt. St. Helens, WA.JPG
    213.7 KB · Views: 62
Northern Flicker for #4
Edit: Well, on closer look, juvenile female Williamson's Sapsucker is brown and has that steep head shape. I don't see any barring near the end of the tail though. Sapsucker should have that and the Flicker on;y has barring about half-way down the tail. My Sibley's doesn't show the Juvie Sapsucker's tail--just the head and back, but I think if the tail were different than the adult, he would show that. Still think N.Flicker.
Willow Flycatcher for #3?
1,2 I think Western Wood-pewee because the primary projection looks long and there is is 'vest'.
Sue
 
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