[Tweeters] Wrentit question and Pacific Cty Bullock's Oriole

[Jeff Gilligan]

My primary residence is on the Long Beach Peninsula.    My yard would have Wrentits if they occurred generally there, which they don’t.  I am very familiar with the species from the Oregon coast where I also have a  home.  I have seen Wrentits near the mouth of the Columbia River, but I would be surprised if one would fly across the wide estuary there.  In my experience, they only make very short flights and usually stay in thick brush along the coast (usually salal).  The few birds found near Portland were in thick Armenian blackberry thickets.  I doubt that they would cross the Columbia even there, but they , or the ancestors, must have crossed the Willamette River to get to the location where they have been found east of Portland.   

BTW: I think is extremely unlikely that one would use the Astoria-Megler Bridge to cross  the river.
 
Jeff Gilligan




> On Jan 29, 2023, at 9:43 PM, Steven Dammer <dammerecologist1990 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 

> I could definitely see this fitting after hearing that XenoCanto recording, thank you for that link, Steve! 

> 

> Casey, after listening to your recording I was thinking much the same thing, after spending about 2.5 weeks in California last April, their song/call is lodged in my brain forever. I'd much agree that this is at least plausible! 

> 

> ALSO, whether it's that I've just never been a part of a forum discussing this Wrentit quandary, I am SHOCKED after pulling up their map on eBird. Never would have thought to even consider it for Washington. But I cannot believe that with so many opportunities for crossing the Columbia, they just won't do it. There's literally a bridge! 

> 

> Anyway, quandaries aside, applause on your plausible Wrentit! 

> 

> Happy Birding,

> 

> Steven Dammer

> 

> 

> On Sun, Jan 29, 2023 at 9:02 PM Steve Hampton <stevechampton at gmail.com <mailto:stevechampton at gmail.com>> wrote:

> Casey, 

> 

> Having birded in California for decades, I'm quite familiar with Wrentits and, to be honest, did not expect your recording to be like one. After listening to it, I'm fairly convinced it actually is a Wrentit! 

> 

> First, as you describe, it sounds like one, without a trill. Note that females do not do the trill at the end. Here's an example of a "half-song", probably a female.   https://xeno-canto.org/351988 <https://xeno-canto.org/351988>

> 

> Second, the sonogram fits well, especially with recordings that are some distance away. For example, compare it to the background bird on my recording here -- https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/217940591 <https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/217940591> 

> --especially the note on my recording at about 5.4 seconds in. Your bird's sonogram also has a hint of a flatish declining top, which some Wrentit sonograms show. Some also show a double wave at the top, but yours (and mine above) show a single wave. Finally, the call notes on your recording at 21 and 22.5 seconds show a harmonic at 6 kHz, exactly where the harmonic in the female call note is. I cannot find a clean example of a female at the moment, but there's one between 7 and 10 seconds here in the background behind the trill of a male. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/212160 <https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/212160>  Ignoring the trill, the sonogram here looks like yours. 

> 

> Do you have a lat-long for this bird?  It should be confirmed visually. I've always thought Washington's first Wrentit would be upriver of Portland (not counting Puget Island), but I think they can surprise us. After all the fires in California, they've appeared (and established themselves) in isolated riparian patches on the Sacramento Valley floor where they would have had to cross two miles of nearly bare fields. 

> 

> Really interesting stuff!  

> 

> 

> 

> 

> On Sun, Jan 29, 2023 at 7:37 PM casey cunningham <redpeelingbark at gmail.com <mailto:redpeelingbark at gmail.com>> wrote:

> Hi Tweeters,

> 

> Yesterday i was on the north jetty rocks of the Columbia and heard a note i couldn't identify that made me think of wrentits, and I remember someone mentioning a possible wrentit at this location.  The note reminds me of the first note in their song and seemed to be coming from in the boulders.  I'm not saying it was a wrentit, just that it was wrentittian.  Anyone know this call?  Am i forgetting something obvious?

> 

> https://ebird.org/checklist/S127237513 <https://ebird.org/checklist/S127237513>

> 

> I couldn't get a view of the source and the only birds i saw on the rocks nearby were two song sparrows. 

> 

> On another note, this morning there was a bullock's oriole in Long Beach.  More detail here:

> 

> https://ebird.org/checklist/S127238468 <https://ebird.org/checklist/S127238468>

> 

> Casey Cunningham

> Portland 

> 

> 

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> 

> -- 

> ​Steve Hampton​

> Port Townsend, WA  (qatáy)

> 

> 

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