LOUISIANA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

REPORT FORM

Photos Below

1. English and Scientific names: Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya

2. Number of individuals:  1

3. Locality: Jefferson Davis Parish

Specific Locality: Lyons Road, about .4 mile S of Ward Line Road, ca. 5 miles NW of Lake Arthur.

4. Date(s) when observed: 10/21/2012

5. Time(s) of day when observed: about 2:00 p.m.

6. Reporting observer and address:

Paul Conover

Lafayette, LA

7. Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s): James Beck

8. Other observers who independently identified the bird(s): This would seem to be the same bird reported by Steve Cardiff and Donna Dittmann from the same general area several weeks prior.

9. Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light):  Very bright but the bird was at a good angle for most of viewing.

10. Optical equipment (type, power, condition): Zeiss 10s, Nikon 20-60 scope, cellphone cam, Nikon D50 with 300mm lens.

11. Distance to bird(s):  200 feet down to 50 feet

12. Duration of observation:  10 minutes

13. Habitat:  a fenced in power facility, simply a graveled yard with a large electrical station and a hurricane fence with barbed wire on top, along a gravel road in the middle of rice country. Large power lines ran alongside the road.

14. Behavior of bird / circumstances of observation:  The bird was in flight inside the fenced in area as we passed. I saw it and stopped. The bird was preening non-stop. I played the call to bring it nearer for documentary photos. It flew in, circled around, then landed across the road on a support wire of a power pole.

15. Description (include only what was actually seen, not what "should" have been seen; include if possible: total length/relative size compared to other familiar species, body bulk, shape, proportions, bill, eye, leg, and plumage characteristics. Stress features that separate it from similar species):

A flycatcher slightly larger than an Eastern Phoebe, overall a sooty gray. Dorsal surface medium grayish, cap dark brownish, tail blackish. Belly and undertail slightly orange-rusty, breast ashy gray. Bill and legs black. Eye dark.

16. Voice: 

17. Similar species (include how they were eliminated by your observation):

None really close. Eastern Phoebe and Vermilion Flycatcher closest for confusion. The former is whitish below, with at most a smudge of gray and some yellow. Female and young male with different colors and pattern.

18. Photographs or tape recordings obtained? (by whom? attached?): Photos attached.

19. Previous experience with this species:  Pretty extensive

20. Identification aids: (list books, illustrations, other birders, etc. used in identification):

a. at time of observation:

b. after observation:

21. This description is written from: memory.  

22. Are you positive of your identification if not, explain: Yes.

23. Date: 10/21/2012