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On a quest to find a Flammulated Flycatcher (1 Viewer)

SueO

Well-known member
I am one month shy of it being two years since I've been aboard my sailboat, Peregrine. She is moored in Barra de Navidad, Colima, Mexico. We arrived on May 9th for a two week visit. I have seen nearly all the birds on my Barra list since arriving, and even added what I think is a lifer; Yellow Grosbeak. I say think because I failed to bring my handwritten lifer notebook and I have not transferred everything to my electronic spreadsheet. I will post a list of species seen since the 9th on another post, but I wanted to post that my target bird for this visit is the Flammulated Flycatcher. I have read what I could find and listened to calls on xeno-canto to help my search. It is supposed to be in range, but I found a bit on wiki that states it is a bird that lives in altitudes of 1000-1400 meters (3280-4593ft) above sea level. I am certainly not in that range. I'm hoping I'm not searching in vain. One of the sound recordings is from Chihuatlan, which is close by and not at that altitude. I have armed myself with info as to appearance and behaviour. If anybody has any insights, please post. I thought I might have seen one (which is what caused me to focus on this bird), but after looking at a few almost silhouette photos, I ruled it out. The sky is just lightening and I will be heading out soon. They have a dawn call and since breeding should start next month, I figure that I have a good chance of finding it if it is here.
 
No FF, but I did get a lifer with a Golden Vireo and I was very happy to see a pair of Pale-billed Woodies. I also enjoyed a very vocal Brown-crested Flycatcher.
 

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Pale billed Woodpecker looks a nice bird Sue!, thanks for showing.👍
Thanks, Ken. The photos don't do them any justice. The trees they were in were leafless and gray and when they landed, their iridescent scarlet crests shone with spectacular beauty. I heard them drumming the day before, but couldn't find them. I've attached a photo of the female checking out a possible nest site.
 

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We are at the end of the dry season right now and the forest shows it. Large sections of trees and scrub are leafless or dry. Nests are highly visible and I have seen quite a few White-bellied Wrens busy with their nests. Also saw San Blas Jays gathering material and Yellow-winged Cacique's hanging nests. Hurricane season officially starts June1st, although the water in the bay felt cold as I swam, so maybe it won't start right away.;) Once the rains hit, the forest will quickly become dense and green. I think in the next day or so, I might stroll along the golf course where the watered environment might be popular. I saw a few small myiarchus yesterday; wasn't sure if they were Dusky-capped or Nutting's. I did hear a Dusky-capped at one point.
 

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Bird list for this visit so far:
Brown Pelican
Magnificent Frigatebird
Neotropic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tri-colored Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
West Mexican Chachalaca
Heermann's Gull
White-winged Dove
Common Ground Dove
Orange-fronted Parakeet
Mangrove Cuckoo
Squirrel Cuckoo
Groove-billed Ani
Pauraque
Golden-crowned Emerald
Cinnamon Hummer
Citreoline Trogon
Ringed Kingfisher
Golden-cheeked Woody
Pale-billed Woody
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Mangrove Swallow (a pair are nesting in a fold of Peregrine's flaked mainsail)
Barn Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow?
San Blas Jay
White-bellied Wren
Happy or Sinaloa Wren
Rufous-backed Thrush
Golden Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Red-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Grayish Saltator
Yellow Grosbeak
White-collared Seedeater
Orange-breasted Bunting
Blue Bunting
Stripe-headed Sparrow
House Sparrow
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Streaked-back Oriole
Yellow-winged Cacique
 
I am one month shy of it being two years since I've been aboard my sailboat, Peregrine. She is moored in Barra de Navidad, Colima, Mexico. We arrived on May 9th for a two week visit. I have seen nearly all the birds on my Barra list since arriving, and even added what I think is a lifer; Yellow Grosbeak. I say think because I failed to bring my handwritten lifer notebook and I have not transferred everything to my electronic spreadsheet. I will post a list of species seen since the 9th on another post, but I wanted to post that my target bird for this visit is the Flammulated Flycatcher. I have read what I could find and listened to calls on xeno-canto to help my search. It is supposed to be in range, but I found a bit on wiki that states it is a bird that lives in altitudes of 1000-1400 meters (3280-4593ft) above sea level. I am certainly not in that range. I'm hoping I'm not searching in vain. One of the sound recordings is from Chihuatlan, which is close by and not at that altitude. I have armed myself with info as to appearance and behaviour. If anybody has any insights, please post. I thought I might have seen one (which is what caused me to focus on this bird), but after looking at a few almost silhouette photos, I ruled it out. The sky is just lightening and I will be heading out soon. They have a dawn call and since breeding should start next month, I figure that I have a good chance of finding it if it is here.
According to Howell and Webb, the Flammulated is sea level to 1400 m; knew that from past reading--just forgot when I found the misinformation on wikipedia. Hope springs eternal.
 
Long, very hot walk today. Four hours and no flaming Flycatcher. I did see an Anhinga, a Northern Jacana, and a White Ibis.
 
The Noon Day sun may be OK for mad dogs and Englishmen, but Great Grandmothers should avoid it. I'm spending most of my day in the belly of Peregrine today to appease my sunburned skin. The hilly walk also caused my torn achilles tendon to flare up, so now I am a gimpy, red, miserable old lady. If I had feathers, I'd be Flammulated. I was slathered in sunscreen and even wore a large hat; things I've never bothered with. The problem is my mind is not as old as my skin. When the heat gets too bad aboard, I will go up to the pool with a paperback novel and find a shady lounge chair. I might even order a few banana daquiris and do as people my age should do. I have a week left, and I will do morning or evening walks on the roads immediately surrounding the resort, but long daytime walks under the glaring sun of the tropics are out. I have mucho doubt that I will find the Flycatcher, but that's OK. There are so many really good birds to easily see and hear, here. I need to go into mature birder mode. I should start a Venerable Birders Society and act my age. If I find new birds for the Barra list, I will post.
 
I have enjoyed reading the posts on you “hunt”. Thanks for sharing them.
 
I have enjoyed reading the posts on you “hunt”. Thanks for sharing them.
Thanks, Lisa. I thought of you the other day. I was reading a J A Jance book that took place in Bisbee. I wondered if you were on the road. I thought that, long ago, you mentioned something about traveling in a land yacht? Maybe my memory is as bad as my skin and bones? ;)
 
I forgot to mention that I have seen three feral cats wandering in the forest. I have never seen them here before. So sorry to see this happen.
 
Let’s hope the felines aren’t “Flamm-catsers” Sue 😮
I was worried about that because the Flammulated apparently nest in tree cavities only about 35 inches from the ground. My first thought was of the Pauraques though. They nest here on the hotel/marina grounds. I hear them at night and I've seen them quite often when I've followed the calls. They are so cute and I hate to think of them being shredded by cats. I did see a cat climbing on the rip rap in the,marina the other night when I went to get a late shower.
 
Thanks, Lisa. I thought of you the other day. I was reading a J A Jance book that took place in Bisbee. I wondered if you were on the road. I thought that, long ago, you mentioned something about traveling in a land yacht? Maybe my memory is as bad as my skin and bones? ;)

Yep, we are in a land yacht, we are in Tucson right now. It is really to hot to be here in an metal box! Will be here a few more weeks having some medical issues (nothing big) taken care of. After that we are off to the Oregon coast for the summer.
 
Yep, we are in a land yacht, we are in Tucson right now. It is really to hot to be here in an metal box! Will be here a few more weeks having some medical issues (nothing big) taken care of. After that we are off to the Oregon coast for the summer.
If you haven’t already Sue?....visit Canon Beach and Haystack....Tufted Puffins a speciality.👍
 
Had a great morning bird walk. I left at 7:45 and got back at 10:30. Added two new birds to the Barra list: Yellow-green Vireo and what I finally decided was an immature, male Broad-billed Hummingbird. I think that's a lifer. I got a Doubleday's farther down south in Mexico and I need to do some reading to find out if the Doubleday's is just a sub-species of the Broad-billed or not. I also found a tiny, dead snake. Looks like something took off it's head and a really great looking lizard I need to ID. I did see a Flycatcher for about half a second before it took off--don't know what it was.
 

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If you haven’t already Sue?....visit Canon Beach and Haystack....Tufted Puffins a speciality.👍
I do want to take a trip up to both, heard you can see the Puffins fairly well.
 
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