[mou] Clay County Louisiana Waterthrush

[robert.oconnor@ndsu.edu]

Hi,

I went to the Felton Prairie late Tuesday afternoon hoping to see a
Baird's Sparrow and saw a Louisiana Warterthrush instead.  The bird was in
the wet woods along the gravel road branching left from the top of Clay
County 108.  This is just north and slightly west of the north gate
leaving the longspur road and the gravel pit just beyond it.  What made me
give the bird a close look was that it was much lighter below than the
typical Northern Waterthrush, and its supercilium was much bolder. 
Eventually, the bird came within about thirty feet of me, giving me
excellent looks at its bright pink legs and the buff flank wash just above
the legs.  The supercilium remained wide behind the eye, the throat was
clear of any streaking except the light malar marks, and where a Nothern
waterthrush would be slightly yellowish below, this bird was white.  Its
bill was comparatively long and stocky, and it bobbed in a more deliberate
way than I'm used to with northern.  Also, its body appeared plumper, with
the rump and tail seemingly raised a bit during its bobbing.  The chip
note it gave did seem less emphatic than the northern's, as the field
guides suggest, but I don't have a good enough ear or enough knowledge of
waterthrush vocalizations to feel especially confident about that.  A
northern waterthrush appeared for a moment between sightings of the
Louisiana, which helped in making comparisons, even though I didn't see
the two birds side by side.  The difference between the bold black streaks
of the northern and the much sparser and lighter (and rather brownish)
streaks of the Louisiana was especially striking.  The white versus
yellowish breast color was very clear, too, and the pinkish color of the
northern's legs was much duller.  As I was watching the bird, Fargo birder
Rick Gjervold drove up and watched the bird with me.

Bob O'Connor
Moorhead