Small-billed Elaenia in Illinois: Chasing a MEGA RARITY
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- Sometimes a bird shows up so far outside of its normal range that birders from all over the country come to see it. This was the case when a Small-billed Elaenia was found in Waukegan, Illinois. Join the Badgerland Birding crew as they travel to find this extreme rarity.
Thanks to Terry Sohl for allowing us to use his range maps
www.sdakotabir...
Photos at 3:35 and 3:45 by Eric Konkol
All other photos and videos by Derek and Ryan Sallmann
#Birding #BirdWatching #BadgerlandBirding #smallbilledelaenia
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That's amazing that you got to see the Small-billed Elaenia. The part about something like a goldfinch popping out and what Rob's and your reaction was going to be was quite amusing. I have to agree with what Bryson said in your last video about Badgerland Birding being the best TH-cam channel.
Aw, thank you so much!
Congrats on the Flycatcher!
Thank you!
AMAZING FIND⭐️⭐️⭐️Thanks for sharing with us!!;))
Thanks! Thanks for watching!
I remember hearing/reading about this bird. Glad to hear you were able to find it!
Thank you!
I am happy for you that you got a chance to see a small-billed elaenia! Hope the bird finds his way back home, too!
Thank you! Hopefully it will be able to!
Great video!! Glad to hear you were able to see the Elaenia!
Thank you!
How awesome! What an adorable little bird! Great catching it too because it looked to be blending in with the trees pretty good. CONGRATS 😁
Yeah it really blends in!
And thank you!!
Awesome you guys got the see the Elaenia! I'm from Chicago and saw it the day after it got reported. It was amazing and probaly the rarest bird that I have ever seen.
Awesome! Glad you got to see it, too!
I’ve never been so tempted to drive for 5 hours each way to maybe see a tiny bird for five minutes that looks almost exactly like other tiny birds I see all the time 😂. Congrats on spotting it, I’m so glad it worked out!
Haha! Thanks! The worst part is when you drive all that way and don’t see it 😔
Glad you could find it cool !
Thanks!
I don't understand how a bird can suddenly decide to travel thousands of miles to a random place in the freezing cold. (Compared to Colombia) I have always wondered why this happens.
Maybe it's part of the bird witness protection program 🤔. But in all honesty, it could be for a variety of reasons. It could have just overshot its migratory location, could be young, or sick, or have gotten blown off course.
I hope it survives the cold up here, little cutiepie
We do too! It is an adorable bird
You guys seem to get a lot of rare birds in the Midwest. I'm a bit jealous. Curious what would make a bird, like the elaenia travel so far from its natural range.
We get a decent amount of rare birds in Louisiana too. I think it just seems like the Midwest gets more because Ryan is always chasing them, haha. I heard people say they thought the Elaenia may have just not known when to stop its migration. It could also be sick, or young, or have showed up for a variety of different reasons. -Derek
Oh No, Not the Lake, don't jump. 😉. The name of the bird reminds me of a Donavan song.
Haha!
Successful chase 👏 flycatchers are tough, glad that bird didn’t get overlooked!
Congratulations! What a lifer! People wonder how this happens. It just does. They might be looking for new territory. Wyoming had a California Condor show up here years ago. Our game and Fish dept had no idea why. Their guess was a young Condor looking for new territory. It was a young female they found out. Unfortunately it was found dead in Utah. Starved too death.
@ Wyoming Adventures; SAD that the Condor didn’t make it:(! Very Cool that you had one!:) I think the Grand Canyon has some? breeding pairs!??!
Aw, that's too bad :/
Awesome birds!
Thanks!
I know its not super rare, but I've had a pair of tufted titmouse in my yard 7 miles east of Stevevs Point, WI since this summer & they seem to be sticking around. I last saw one on 12/4/21.
Awesome! I love those little charismatic birds!
That little bird isn't dull at all! (S)he was beautifully fluffy and the colours very subtle. I must say I'm a bit worried about him/her - (s)he seems to be alone with no mate, and far from home. Are such birds ever captured and returned to their usual territory? I'm concerned (s)he will perish? Maybe he is fluffy because he's cold? I am a total newbie so please excuse me if these are idiotic questions, but I'm worried about him/her!
I agree! Beautiful bird! It can get complicated. Birds have been caught and relocated if their health appears to be diminishing. The fluffiness is pretty normal. Some vagrant birds continuously show up out of their range every year in the same place despite not having a mate there. It’s difficult to say why. Other show up for a little bit and then leave. Due to the fact that birders will likely continue to look for the Elaenia they can also monitor its health. If it does deteriorate, hopefully it can get taken to a rehabber but that’s a very last resort. Almost always it’s best to let the birds be. A similar situation happens with a Ross’s Gull in WI/MN and it was taken to a rehabber after it became sluggish. Sadly the bird did not survive, but attempts were made to help it.
I should of read the comments before I commented. I asked the same thing just about. Newbie here as well.
@@chriscarlsen2100 no worries! Yeah it really depends on how it’s doing. Some birds are surprisingly hardy. We’ve had hummingbirds show up in the middle of winter before.
@@BadgerlandBirding Thankyou for such a comprehensive reply...and so quickly! I'm glad you guys keep an eye on the birds that appear to be off course. I guess sometimes this is how birds gradually extend their 'range' and establish new territories. I live in UK and in recent years various 'new' birds have shown up and established themselves, mostly thought to be due to climate change or decline in food sources elsewhere. Thanks again. Only recently found your channel and am enjoying it very much.
Great video guys! Occasionally at my feeder here in central Wisconsin I'll spot a bird I can't identify. Sadly I'm never able to get a photo, although I'll memorize distinguishing features. I'll spend days obsessively going through birding books, searching online, checking ebird to see what my neighbors are spotting. Ultimately the only match I will be able to come up with is a bird from South America. No, no, and NO. Or maybe something from a range far north in Canada. I usually end up scribbling something in my birding diary like "Big Weird Bird, looks like monster-sized nuthatch with tiny feet and characteristics of ring-necked pheasant." 😜 Keep up the great work, guys!
We eagerly await the day when you DO get a photo and we can help you ID it!
Woohoo! You got it!
EPIC
THANKS!
Thought it was an oven bird. Thank you.
You’re welcome!
Someday I might have the skill to differentiate between flycatchers. Not today!
They are tricky for sure!
Probably a dumb question, but how are you sure it wasn't a more native bird like an Alder Flycatcher?
Great question! In situations like this, the story of the bird becomes almost National news and experts have a chance to review the photos and weigh in before consensus is reached. This bird has characteristics such as bill length and color, stomach color, and wing bar definition that separate it from more common flycatchers. However, at first there was debate about whether it was a Small-billed Elaenia or a White-created Elaenia, which is also super rare but looks very similar. Long story short, the bird has been identified by recreational birders and experts, given the buzz, so a consensus is generally reached by the community about ID in situations like this.
Once you get a feel for the general look of Empidonax flycatchers, you see how this bird is no Empid.
Earth's magnetic field shifting
🤔
I would have just thought Pewee and had no clue...
Yeah some of these birds people find I’m like “👀 how did you pick through all the similar looking birds to find this.”
We’re you able to include the bird on eBird considering it’s rarity?
I am sure they did! -Derek
This is probably a dumb question, but oh well here goes... when such a rare bird is found and it's so far out of its range, does anyone try and catch it, so it can be released back to where it belongs? It kind of made me alittle sad thinking about how it would survive the winters here. I am very new to birding so, I'm sorry if that was really stupid. 🤷🏼♀️😊
That's actually a consistent question in the birding/wildlife community when it comes to animals outside of their normal range. One side believes it's right to help them in the way you're suggesting by bringing them back where they belong. The other side believes it's better for the species as a whole to not interfere and that birds outside their range may have something wrong with them in the first place. It's an issue that will definitely continue on but there have been some instances of capturing and relocating vagrant species.
There was a Brown Pelican in my area (NYC) in winter about a year or so ago that was found near death. After spending some time at a wildlife rehab, it was flown down to either NC or FL, can't remember which.
How to find out about these rare birds? ABA facebook alerts?
ABA Facebook alerts and bird alerts along with general chatter from our birding friends!