bird that's driving me nuts

[dvdk]

Hello birders,

There's a bird that I've heard two consecutive weeks in Downes Creek Park (aka. Downes Bowl) but have not seen and which I can't seem to identify by sound alone. I often hear it an area of the park dominated by red cedar, the odd sitka spruce, and large western hemlocks, and it always seems to call from the canopy of this forest.

The best I can approximate is: a short, two syllable REET-REEUW, or "Eat Real" with an emphasis on the first syllable. Does this sound familiar to anybody?

Daniel

[Dave]

How about a Bullock's Oriole? They sometimes do 2-note calls, but the emphasis is on the second syllable, if memory serves correctly. Or a robin? I have chased them down for goofy noises

Others?

DB

[Dave]

A better guess would be a Towhee

DB

[Gord]

I could fill an hour or two telling tales of chasing common birds around because they're doing weird songs. ;D

Im trying to think of a bird that would be in the evergreen trees and up high. Swainson's thrush? They have a wide array of noises they are capable of making, and are shy as well so hard to find.

Does sound like a towhee call too though. Geeze, there is something on the tip of my tongue, but cant figure it out! I was hoping it would come as I typed this. No luck.

Hope you figure it out! Ill keep thinking and listening when Im out too as Im going a little nuts too now! hehe

[dvdk]

I've been browsing through Sibley's in the flycatchers section and there are two birds whose songs seem to somewhat match what I heard. One is the common Willow Flycatcher, although the ones that I have seen sound a lot more like, "Fitz-bew" than this one.

The other is the western wood peewee, a bird which I used to mistake for the Willow Flycatcher, whose call Sibley's describes as, "a burry, nasal, whistled, DREE-YURR" which I think is more likely. The habitat description for the wood peewee also matches, as it says, "common in mature deciduous and mixed forests."

I'm tentatively saying Western Wood Peewee but will take a swing through the park on Sunday morning to take another a crack at the nut.

Daniel van der Kroon

[Gord]

Pewee!!! That's the guy I think was on the tip of my tongue!

Good work figuring it out! I bet you'll confirm it if you havnt already.