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Bird of the Month Pacific-slope Flycatchers are small songbirds with an upright posture, a large head that often looks peaked, and a straight, fairly wide bill. Males and females are identical, pale greenish brown above and pale below with lemon wash. The wings and tail are dark with strongly contrasting pale wingbars. They fly out from perches at middle heights in trees and understory to capture insects in flight. Males sing a high- pitched, three-part ps-SEET ptsick tseet! Pacific-slope Flycatchers spend their summers along the West Coast from Southeast Alaska southward through Washington, Oregon, California, and Northwest Baja California, where they nest in partly open coniferous and mixed forests, usually near streams and canyons of foothills and mountains. They winter in Southern Baja California and Western mainland Mexico. The Pacific-slope Flycatcher on Trail A on Oct. 2 was in migration from its breeding grounds, either in the local mountains or somewhere to the north, to its Mexican wintering grounds. ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB Birds have been moving around as migration progresses at Four Seasons. The last of Four Seasons' 2021 breeding population of Bell's Vireos departed between Sept. 10 and 16, similar to 2019 when the last Bell's Vireo headed south sometime between Sept. 15 and 18. Pass-through migrants sighted in September included several Wilson's Warblers, a Nashville Warbler, a few Chipping Sparrows, and a flock of at least 50 Turkey Vultures that roosted in the trees along Trails A and B on the night of Sept. 20. Last year, a similar migrating flock of Turkey Vultures roosted in the same area on the evening of Oct. 4 during their southward fall migration. Winter arrivals in September included Western Bluebirds, White-crowned Sparrows, and Cassin's Kingbirds. The group bird walk on Oct. 2 produced a total of 23 species, highlighted by a Pacific- slope Flycatcher, a first record for Four Seasons and species #114 (our Bird of the Month). Other highlights included a bird- walk-first Lincoln's Sparrow and a Great Horned Owl, probably the same one that had been seen by several people over the past month. In the afternoon, I found about 10 bird-walk-first Savannah Sparrows in the big grassy basin next to The Courts, and among them a single Vesper Sparrow, a first record for Four Seasons and species #115! A few Mourning Doves and a bird-walk-first Chipping Sparrow at my feeder brought the total for the day to 27 species. FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2021 39 Great Horned Owl on Trail C on Sept. 11 Photo by Peter and Julie Shuttleworth A migrating flock of Turkey Vultures roosted along Trails A and B and was seen by many residents on the night of Sept. 20 and the following morning Photo by Club member Gerrie Karczynski Pacific-slope Flycatcher on Trail A on Oct. 2 Photo by Club member John Hansen

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