[Tweeters] Brady Loop Crane

[bill shelmerdine]

Good morning all,
Great job Liam for finding this bird and letting folks know quickly.  I had the good fortune to get to the area in the afternoon and see the bird in the distance, both in flight and foraging with Sandhill Cranes.  The location was the far side of field to the south, just after leaving the highway on the East end of Brady Loop (South of Brady and west of Satsop).  My first view of the crane was from Foster Road as it was flying back to the original location.  Others saw it in other places and obviously it moves around, but seems to return to the field near the east end of the loop (at least yesterday).

This bird is interesting, and clearly not the same as the bird from the Skagit in 2021, and/or the bird seen around the Western US in previous years.  It has a much less striking head and neck pattern than that/those individuals.  The basic pattern is right however for CoCr, and the wing pattern looks good as well.  However, it seems premature to rule out the possibility of a hybrid at this point.  Echoing the words of Howell et. al. in Rare Birds of North America (2015) when referring to identification, the cautionary note in reference to similar species:  "None if seen well, but the possibility of hybrids should be considered (such birds may show head and neck patterns suggesting Common but "not quite right"; cf NAB 54:24")

I'm including my ebird notes below:
Continuing w/ Sandhill Cranes, far edge of near field, looking S.  Possibility of a hybrid needs to be ruled out or confirmed, more work to be done here. Large crane, standing out from Sandhill Cranes as follows:
In flight, dark black or blackish primaries and secondaries;
White face and upper neck with black forehead and throat washed black; Large/bulky bustle @ tertials, black below this area.  Pale yellowish bill with darker tip.  This bird is unlike the adult CoCr responsible for recent western US records.  It shows a reduced amount of the striking black and white in the head and neck, with the black in the throat area being more blackish than black, and a less extensive black crown.  The possibility of a hybrid needs to be considered and/or ruled out.  Note Howell et. al. (2014) comment:  "such birds may show head and neck patterns suggesting Common but "not quite right"; cf NAB 54:24")
Photo TBA
Thanks to Liam Hutcheson for finding this bird and getting the word out right away.  Very nice...

Bill Shelmerdine
Olympia WA
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