I received an email from Doug Kibbe, on 9/14, describing the amazing number of birds that he and Mackenzie Goldthwait were surrounded by at Flagler SWA. I posted that to Cobirds. In a follow-up message from Doug a little later, the estimate of "about a hundred empids" was revised upward considerably, so I wanted to get that fallout onto Cobirds for historic reference. I quote Doug's second post, sent after they finished birding at Flagler on 9/14:
"We suspect the number of empids was probably several hundred. (Emphasis added). The birds were seemingly in every bush both north and south of the lake.
In total, I think we had six Blue-headed vireos, four Nashville Warblers, three Great Crested Flycatchers, two Mourning warblers, two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, two Alder Flycatchers, a Philadelphia Vireo, and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak."
Not able to resist the temptation to drive out there despite the limited hours I had allotted for Sunday AM birding, I arrived at Flagler at about 7:40 this morning, Sept 15, and dutifully noted that: "Flocks have fled Flagler." For the next hour I estimated that "several hundred empids" must have left there overnight on the brisk north winds. Mark Chavez and David Gillilan joined me, and we soon found ONE empid, which was confiding, allowing our close inspection. Mark hammered it with photos. We tentatively ID'd it as a first fall Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but were of course hesitant until the bird report had been reviewed by the Colorado Bird Record Committee of the CFO.
Glenn Walbek, Loch Kilpatrick and Ira Sanders joined us and the bird was refound and rephotographed, as per Glenn's recent note on Cobirds. (Great photos, Glenn). As I was leaving leaving at 9:45, Roger and Brenda Linfield arrived. Others may have come later.
MANY THANKS go to Mackenize ("Kez") and Doug for alerting birders to this massive and unprecedented empid fallout and in particular to the YB Fly. We who were there today consider ourselves massively fortunate that although hundreds of empids had gone AWOL, the putative Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was the one that stayed put.
As they say in Sri Lanka, "Serendipity is better than no dipity at all."
Joe Roller,
Denver
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