Observers: Chris McCreedy
Email: cmccreedy@prbo.org
Remote Name: 209.221.222.45
Date: 08/09/03
Time: 02:13:01 PM
Hello, Inyo birders! As some of you know, I work on a population of Willow Flycatchers in the Mono Basin. I color band them (among other things), and they are beginning to leave their territories, and soon (if not already), Rush Creek. The first, most likely route of dispersal would be south along the Eastern Sierra escarpment - towards you! Each bird (22 color banded so far, a few more hopefully still to go) will have two color bands on one leg, and a silver FWS band on the other. Many of you already know this, but to read a color combination, you read left leg to right, body to toe. Orange-Red/Silver is a bird with orange and then red on the left leg, silver on the right. Resighting the bands takes effort, their legs are small, I have ground down the bands to fit 2 per leg, and they often sit on their legs. However, there are not many WIFL out there, and I would be delighted if y'all come across one (or more!) this August and September. So here is a heads up to take an extra look at that Empid, and maybe score a shot in the dark. I really appreciate your help! You can reach me at cmccreedy@prbo.org