IBRC 53-B-09

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES: Blue-headed Vireo
HOW MANY: one

REPORTER: Robert E. Bond 2441 Evening Star Drive Salt Lake City, Ut 84124 801-272-0104 Box 203 Coolin, ID 83821 208-443-2960
REPORTER EMAIL: rgbond@earthlink.net
OTHER OBSERVERS: Robert Bond found the bird. Georgene Bond also saw the bird

DATE REPORT PREPARED: 10-13-09
DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED: September 22, 2009

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION: At our cabin 1 mile southwest of Coolin, ID on Priest Lake
HABITAT: Mixed forest in back yard

CONDITIONS: I observed the bird for 2 to 3 minutes, then ran to the cabin and brought my wife out, and were able to observe it for perhaps an additional 45 seconds until it flew. Weather was calm. Binoculars were Nikon Venturer LX, 8X40

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?: No, not at all
DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?: Yes, later the same day
WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?: Sibley National Geographic

DESCRIPTION: This Vireo had obvious *spectacles", Had a distinct blue-gray head contrasting with the white throat. The most obvious visual finding was the bright yellow sides for a "Solitary" Vireo.
BEHAVIOR: I first heard this bird singing while back at my garage. The song resembled a Red-eyed Vireo, but didn't sound right. I initially thought maybe it was a young Red-eyed trying to learn how to sing. I keep a daily list of all birds I see or hear while at my cabin, and the last Red-eyed Vireo was August 28, so I was immediately aware of the possibility this could be some other Vireo. It was actively feeding in a deciduous tree and continued to periodically sing. I estimate the distance to the bird at 80 feet. It was a single bird, not associating with any other birds.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU? I knew immediately what the bird was. The coloration was distinctly different from a Cassin's Vireo. The spectacles eliminated all other possible Vireos other than "Solitary".
HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY? The coloration was much brighter than any Cassin's Vireo. The song was very different from the Cassin's Vireo, much closer to that of the Red-eyed. Why the bird was singing on the late date of September 22 while migrating I don't know, but that is how I found the bird.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES): I am very familiar with both Cassin's Vireo which I see or hear several times a week while at my cabin in the summer, and with the Plumbeous Vireo, which is the common "Solitary" Vireo in my home state of Utah. I am less familiar with the Blue-headed Vireo, but I have seen it many times as I lived in the east for four years and have travelled there numerous other times.
GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE: I have been birding for 59 years and feel I am an expert birder. I am very familiar with bird songs and have been doing Breeding Bird Surveys for the past 23 years. I currently am a member of the Utah Bird Records Committee.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?: None