IBRC 54-B-09

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES: Northern Parula
HOW MANY: 1 immature or female bird

REPORTER: Lew Ulrey 2614 N El Rancho Drive Boise, ID 83704-6205 (208) 322-8246
REPORTER EMAIL: lulrey@cableone.net
OTHER OBSERVERS: Connie Ulrey same contact information

DATE REPORT PREPARED: 10/4/2009       DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED: 9/29/2009 and 10/1 and 2/2009 (3 days)
LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION: 2614 N El Rancho Drive Boise, Idaho

HABITAT: backyard
CONDITIONS: Over the three days I observed the bird for one hour total. I looked at it through my Nikon 8 x 42 binoculars at a range of 25 feet. The sun was behind me and the bird. The weather was calm and 65 degrees.

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?: National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of N.A., 5th ed., Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer, editors

DESCRIPTION: This bird was clearly a member of Perulidae--Wood Warblers. I knew that by the bird's slender build, and delicate bill.
BEHAVIOR: Nearly all the time I saw the bird it was clinging to the trunk of my ash tree gleaning insects. Occasionally it would fly to the base of the trunk. On only two instances did I see it anywhere else. Once it was perched in an adjacent tree, and another time it was on the ground under my bird bath. The bird did not interact with other birds.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU? I did not identify the bird. I wanted it to be a Nashville Warbler, but the split eye ring made me suspicious. Therefore I made a photo of the bird available on IBLE. Four people identified the bird as Northern Parula. After receiving that assistance, I looked at the picture and write up for Norther Parula in my field guide. The split eye ring, blue-gray back, bright yellow throat and breast, yellowish green upper back, and two white wing bars show in the field guide cited above all checked out with the bird I photographed.
HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES): I have no prior experience with Northern Parula. But I have seen many of the common, local wood warblers, and that experience enabled me to identify this bird as a member of the wood warbler family.
GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE: I have been birding since I was a child, and I am an average, non-expert, birder.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?: Photo

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