Rare Bird Report #: 5-B-08

(Documentation submitted for CBC observation)

The passerine was initially noticed foraging on rocks with a European Starling. It was originally discovered by Jake Briggs who wondered if we had a Dipper. I observed both species and commented to Jake that "no" it was not a Dipper. The passerine in question had a more slender profile than the starling and what stood out initially was a light supercillum stripe with a darker eye stripe as revealed in the picture especially when lightened.  It also seemed to be lighter in the throat area.  The bird flew up into some overhanging branches along the river and joined other starlings for a moment and it then returned by itself onto some other rocks downstream.  We considered three other species at this time, a female Red-winged blackbird, an American Pipit, and a female Brewers blackbird. The subject was generally dark except for the lighter supercillium and throat area which along with its foraging behavior in the river and association with the starlings caused us to eliminate the American Pipit.

It was at this time I attempted to take some pictures through my scope which was difficult being a cloudy overcast snowy day with the bird constantly on the move.  It seemed very content to forage from exposed rocks or ice around exposed water.  It did not act like a dipper in its foraging action but seemed to walk around these areas.  It may have bobbed some but not from the legs but with more or a tipping motion.  The pictures also indicate interference with some grasses growing on an island between the camera and the bird which really contributed to a poor picture along with the poor light and weather conditions.  We discussed different blackbirds and discussed our observations. I used both a Zeiss 85mm FL T angled spotting scope with a 20-60X zoom lens and a pair of Swift (Audubon) 8.5 X 44 binoculars while Jake was using a Swarovski 8.5 X 42mm EL binoculars. Initially when Jake discovered it he thought he may have seen some light chest streaking somewhat like a female red-wing blackbird but neither my pictures nor his showed any, nor did I observe any through the spotting scope. At this point and because of the thin bill I observed I eliminated the red-winged blackbird.

Further review of the pictures and numerous Field Guides (Sibley, Kenn Kauffman’s and National Geographic) causes me to eliminate Brewers blackbird. Some of the considerations in this area include the light supercillum strip, dark eye stripe and lighter throat area along with the overall Buffy nature in the pictures of the head area. The other observation that helped me eliminate the Brewers blackbird is the extremely thin bill and short legged/short tailed look that the profile of the subject presented in the picture DSC01467-1. The attached pictures are cropped only to reduce the file size so you can play with them with any Photoshop type program you might have to lighten them.  I went back in the afternoon to look for the bird again during the count and I was unable to relocate it for the time we had as we had to continue with the count in other areas.

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