Hornsby Field Trip Empids Class
Here’s an Empid (and friends) we had on field trip today. Maybe someone else can post the other flycatcher (which I neglected to get pix of).






Here’s an Empid (and friends) we had on field trip today. Maybe someone else can post the other flycatcher (which I neglected to get pix of).






Migration !!! Had a few hundred of these guys near La Grange yesterday. Then I stopped by Hornsby about noon and it was almost devoid of shorebird habitat. Water is up and meets the grass, so no “shore”. I did manage to find 3 of the the “big 4”: Least, Killdeer & Spotted.
When our VECAL FT bidders canceled this morning, Eric and I walked around Hornsby on our own. Nice to see some ducks on the ponds, lots of butter butts, blue head vireo, and other regulars. Best birds: a stunning male vermilion flycatcher (previously reported) seemed to be glowing and a late 1st year male Baltimore…
I estimated 330 Wilson’s phalarope at Hornsby in this flock, about 100 in a 2nd flock yesterday. 12 shorebird species.
Mills pond today. Do you remember what to look for? 2 birds.
Here’s another odd coloration on a Least Sandpiper from Hornsby yesterday. I had a similar one last year. The least in the back is more normal colored. The front one looked almost red in person.
I have a couple. This first one is from NE Oregon on 6/21/22, in Wallawa mountains at 6500 feet in meadows with trees adjacent to pine/oak woodlands. There were at least 5 of the same species within a few 100 yards of each other vocalizing many times.