Northern Mockingbird at Walden Ponds, and possible Ash-Throated Flycatcher

[Jeff Parks]

Hey all -

I was at Walden Ponds a couple of weeks ago, and saw what I thought was a Northern Shrike.  The light was not real good, but it was in an area that I see them regularly at other times of the year.  I went back this morning to see what was out there, and found it again in the same area.  It was acting a little more skittish than the Shrikes that I have seen in the past, so I followed it around for a little while to get a better look.  After some deliberation, I have to conclude that this one is a Northern Mockingbird.  At one point, I saw a pair of them, the second one was much browner, but they seemed to be moving together from tree to tree.  I didn't get a good look at the second one, but it seemed to have the same type of white patches on the wings.  My pictures are not the best, but I think they are adequate for identification.  The one that looks like a bunch of branches is the second bird leaving from it's perch.  It was sitting still until I took the picture ...

Another interesting bird that I saw out there today was what I think is an Ash-Throated Flycatcher.  It was a pretty light grey on the back, and had light orange patches under the secondaries.  The head had the typical peak on the back, I thought Western Wood Pewee at first, but the light color wasn't right for that, so I took a closer look.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture, as I was trying to get a good look through the binoculars.  Using Sibley, the Ash-Throated Flycatcher is the only flycatcher with orange under the secondaries that shows up on the range maps for this area, but this one didn't look that large.  I didn't get a very long look, maybe 30 seconds or so before it flew off into the woods.  I waited around for awhile, but didn't see it again.  I didn't see any yellow on the belly, but it was facing partly away from me.  I didn't see the underside of the tail either, unfortunately.

There were the usual bunch of Snowy Egrets on Cottonwood Marsh, along with several Great Blue Herons, a juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron, a female Cinnamon Teal, a Solitary Sandpiper and three Wilson's Snipe. 

I drove by Baseline Reservoir on the way home, and there were fifteen Common Mergansers swimming along Cherryvale. 

Good Birding -

Jeff Parks
Boulder

[Jeff Parks]

Well, I received a reply from another birder who suggested that perhaps there was both a Mockingbird and a Shrike in that location, based on the pictures.  I thought I was following one bird, and then a second one of the same species showed up, but perhaps there were two different birds in the same vicinity, and I was not mistaken about a Shrike on my earlier visit.  When I saw the bird, my first thought was that it was a Shrike.  Shortly after it saw me, it flew into a tree where visibility was not optimal, and then flew off into another bunch of trees.  I followed it, and took the photo on the bottom at that point.  After some time, it flew off, and I followed it the best I could, and it eventually landed in a tree where I took the top photo.  Another bird landed in the same tree about the same time, which I thought was a different bird, but perhaps I had them mixed up. The middle photo was taken to try and ID the second bird, but it took off just as I clicked the shutter button.   I need to go back ...

JP