Date: 12/31/25 6:04 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Taiga flycatcher in Vancouver
Sorry, but as usual I just couldn't resist.
===============================================
*Every Bird Has a Story..*
Well, not everyone does, but this one does. For me, anyhow. Taiga
Flycatcher, ( a great NA rarity now in Vancouver BC); formerly called
Red-throated Flycatcher. Now split.
Long ago, I had a business meeting in Hokkaido, Japan. . My wife was
invited..
After the meeting we went to stay at a B&B run by a Japanese Birder.
We arrived in the afternoon for dinner. Next morning I got up just at
first light and walked along the nearby roads looking for birds. No
camera, light was far too dim. Misty, light rain. A ;small thrush flew
across the road and landed. Looked and behaved just like a Hermit Thrush,
but the spots, instead, were rings, like bubbles sorta. Pretty
distinctive. Easy to ID from my Japan field guide Cool. I knew nothing
of its detailed status but it seemed to be somewhat rare.and this was
migration time. Headed North?
Upon returning to the B&B for breakfast I told the 'Keeper' of the B&B of
my sighting, showed the picture in the Field Guide. His English wasn't
great, hut be could understand the picture. He seemed skeptical. Not a
great surprise. So then we asked about further, nearby birding and the host
told us about a nearby small park that would have migrants. We went. We
soon discovered a small flycatcher with a red throat. Easy to ID from the
book. Red-throated Flycatcher, now Taiga. The light was good, the bird
was tame and I got some photos.
We returned to the B&B and I showed him the Field Guide picture of what we
saw, the flycatcher.. Skepticism reigned supreme. No surprises there
either.
Returning to the US I scanned the slides and emailed him a photo. No
response via email. No surprise there either.
5-10 years later I was looking at bird books in the famous Powell's
Bookstore, a very large Bird Book Selection. There was a new book by Mark
Brazil. An Anglo with a lot of experience in Japanese birding. This was a
review of all birds recorded for Japan. In English.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I thought . I wonder...................................?
I opened the book to Red-breasted Flycatcher. Yep, I got that right.
There was my record with the correct date, attributed to ..... you know
who. And, of course, no mention of me. No surprise there either.
I bought Brazil's book at Powell's and I have the scanned photo. I'm
satisfied.
Bob OBrien Portland
On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 12:18 PM Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Tweets, I was lucky enough to be visiting friends on BC coast when I heard
> of the mega-rarity in Vancouver: a taiga flycatcher. These birds winter in
> southern Asia and summer in Siberia, and this is apparently only the 2nd
> North American record ever. I was passing through Vancouver, and yes I did
> re-route to the Aquatic Center to find it. I stood with a couple dozen
> hopefuls for an hour or so hoping it would show itself. About 4:10 with
> the light starting to dim, I got a tip from a photographer I'd chatted
> with. (Big thank you to whoever that was!) So another birder and I walked
> a couple blocks to where we'd just been told the bird had been, and after a
> bit, there it was. I had the pleasure of being the one to find it and then
> helping some others get looks at it, for about 10 minutes, as it moved
> steadily down a long fence, flycatching and showing its tail, before it
> flew off. Perfect. Victory is even better when it's snatched from the
> jaws of defeat.
>
> Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser (Whitney's driver)
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