Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Least Flycatcher
Scientific name:	Empidonax minimus
Date:	June 2, 2015
Time:	Morning
Length of time observed:	2 1/2 hrs
Number:	2
Age:	Adult
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Willard Bay State Park
County:	Box Elder
Latilong:	41.418209 112.054624
Elevation:	4240
Distance to bird:	50 feet and sometimes farther
Optical equipment:	8 x 42 binos; 85mm scope with 20-60x eyepiece
Weather:	Not recorded
Light Conditions:	Not recorded
Description: Size of bird:
(Description:) Basic Shape:
(Description:) Overall Pattern:
(Description:) Bill Type:
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Did not make notes on the appearance of these birds when I found the single one on 5/27/2015 or the two on 6/2/2015. Excerpts from posts on Utahbirds.org from both of those dates: From: utahbirdshotline@googlegroups.com - by Kristin Purdy Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 3:10 PM Yes, it s possible to be a fair weather birder waiting inside your vehicle for a deluge to subside and log a rare bird, in this case, a LEAST FLYCATCHER at Willard Bay State Park, Box Elder County. That was the scenario this morning in the park as I waited for a drenching storm cell to clear and I rolled down my window a bit. Two che-beks later, I was pretty pleased. The bird called from Willow Campground Loop sites 6-7, and also ventured farther north into the dense, mature and very tall cottonwoods along the nature trail known for harboring owls in the winter. I eventually parked and meandered the trail and got a brief view of the bird mid-canopy. It che-beked sporadically and mostly out of sight, including from the big cottonwood at campsite 6 just before I left the park hours later. From: utahbirdshotline@googlegroups.com - by Kristin Purdy Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 1:32 PM I visited Willard Bay State Park in Box Elder County this morning to record the LEAST FLYCATCHER I heard and saw there on Wednesday. When I exited my truck, I heard Least Flycatchers singing into both ears. It was so weird to hear them in stereo. I certainly knew I heard one loud one near Willow Creek Campground campsite #24, but another one seemed to be insinuating itself into my other ear and ricocheting around my head. I wasn t convinced at first that there were two. But after two and a half hours of chasing, observing, recording, noting territories, taking notes and swatting at mosquitoes, I m clear that there were two. I ve attached a Google Earth image with the territories of the two birds drawn so no one else thinks they re going crazy with all the che-beks and distant echoing che-beks. Last Wednesday s bird is the campsite #6 bird, who appears to be miffed that another one has found Willow Creek Campground. Campsite #6 bird ranged as far south as Campsite #25 across the street from the new bird s territory at Campsite #24. I may have captured a poor recording of both of them calling at the same time in adjacent campsites, but the cacophony of bird song and people noise may render the recording useless. I did get, however, multiple recordings of each bird singing out of earshot with the other (all other noise present). The campsite #24 bird only ranged about 50 yards and barely left the campsite once to sing on a branch in campsite #23. This bird is easier to find and observe because of the smaller territory, more open cottonwoods and an understory of grass and pavement. I was even able to get the scope on this bird a couple times despite the bird remaining high (50 ) under the canopy.
Song or call & method of delivery:	Persistent bold che-beks repeated regularly from perches high in cottonwoods and just under the canopy (listen to: Audio1, Audio2, (Both birds’ che-beks overlaying each other especially in the second half of both of those recordings) and Audio3, only the campsite 24 bird for reference.)
Behavior:	Perching on dead branches just under the canopy of tall cottonwoods. One of the two birds rarely strayed from a particular campsite, the other ranged farther back and forth but sang across the campground road from the first
Habitat:	Open woodland with some tall deciduous trees
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Clarity, persistence, lack of musicality and emphatic nature of this bird's song is unmistakable. Better identified by voice than by appearance.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Six to eight in Utah; many in Massachusetts woodlands. Annually see most Utah empids, but this is an audio record and the bird's voice is very distinctly different from other species, Empid or not.
References consulted:	None
Description from:	Notes made later
Observer:	Kristin Purdy
Observer's address:	Ogden
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	I'm the only person who reported two birds. These birders logged one in eBird after my 5/27/2015 post: 5/30/2015 Jon Watkins 5/31/2015 Taylor Abbott 5/31/2015 Kenny Frisch 6/1/2015 Shyloh Robinson 6/4/2015 Rachel LeBlanc 6/20/2015 Stephanie Greenwood 7/03/2015 Von Welch (who also posted photos in his eBird checklist)
Date prepared:	11/5/2018 based on posts and recordings from dates I observed the birds
Additional material:	Photo is a Google Earth image, rather than an image of the birds.
Additional comments:	While I first heard and observed one bird on 5/27/2015, this record is specifically for the two-bird observation on 6/2/2015 because that's the date I captured the physical evidence with the recordings and created the Google Earth .jpg file of the two birds' territories. I recorded two of the three audio files to capture both birds singing while I was standing on the campground road between their territories, meaning I was not under either bird. One of the audio files, the clearest one, is of the campsite 24 bird that didn't move around much and was easy to stand directly beneath and record. I've included the file of the single bird just for reference.