Date: 8/27/25 2:01 pm From: Brian Fitch via groups.io <fogeggs...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] Possible Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
I'd been at the small graffitied bunker at Battery Chester for several
minutes, watching singles of Hermit Warbler, W Tanager, and Acorn
Woodpecker, when movement caught my eye below in the scrub. It was an
empidonax that briefly looked like a Western, of which I'd seen two earlier
at other sites; green back, peaked head and slightly teardrop shaped eye
ring. The bird was hawking inside of a fruiting nightshade shrub, but then
it flew up into a dying pine and perched in profile. The wing panel was
unusually dark for a Western, the throat was rather bright yellow, it
appeared big headed and short tailed, and I began to get interested. I
watched it for some minutes, as it did a regular circuit between two
nightshades and multiple dead or dying pines adjacent, and on one of the
upflights from bush to tree, it gave the only call I heard, an explosive,
flat toned "pweeest!" I then tried to approach its nightshade perch for
closer looks, but it disappeared while I was in that zone. Upon climbing
back up to the paved walk, I pulled out my phone, found calls online and
played them for my own elucidation, but they immediately brought the bird
out of its hiding place and up to my level about ten feet away. I stopped
the sound and studied the bird for only a few seconds before it flew back
down to its circuit. I then wrote to the group and settled in to keep
track. After a while, the flycatcher left its route and flew into the main
thicket below the bunker and didn't show again for at least five minutes.
It then returned to the nightshades, and I didn't see it come out before
Carter arrived and then Eli. They both then spotted it back in the tree at
sidewalk level, but it again vanished, during which time we ended up
chasing in another direction what turned out to be a Western Flyc. As I
finally tried to leave, I refound the Y-b at the south end of the battery
structure, but it again disappeared before the others could reach me.
I've already described the bird, but in addition, it was very active in
tail and wing flicking, and also clung several times to the pine trunks as
it took prey from the crevices. I've just gone through some recordings and
found two very similar ones in Macauley, ML52524901 from Honduras and
ML125854571 from Florida. The call from today's bird was only different in
being slightly more drawn out.
With reference checks complete, I feel confident in removing the "Possible"
from the header, and stating that it was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. I
hope others can see, hear, and document it before it moves on, and my only
regret is that it's not my numerical milestone species, since I saw Logan's
Y-b Flyc a few years ago at Pine Lake.
Brian Fitch
On Wed, Aug 27, 2025 at 10:54 AM Brian Fitch <fogeggs...> wrote:
> I’ve been watching an empid with dark wing panels and yellow throat, and
> it then gave an explosive “pweeest!” call. I pulled out my phone to listen
> to Y-b calls and the bird came blasting in very close.
> Battery Chester toward the octagon house.
> Brian Fitch
>
