A Rare Tweet for Birders

This corner of William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine used to be a quiet place to go for a walk along paved paths among gently swaying trees.

But that was before a visitor from Mexico fluttered in and took up residence. Now, because of the Nutting’s flycatcher, a 7-inch, orange-mouthed, yellow-breasted native of Sonora, Mexico--never before identified in California--a small section of park has become a bird-watcher’s Super Bowl.

Binocular-toting birders--whose hobby is cataloging bird species--are flocking to the park from throughout the country. They hope to glimpse the bird, hear its distinctive call and add it to their list.

Scientists also are there, trying to discover what a bird from Mexico is doing all by itself in Irvine.

For the last few weeks, drawn by Internet postings and newspaper articles, scores have stared intently into a stand of trees, shushing one another and waiting for the bird to appear and sing.

“Your heart just swells up when you see it,” said Barbara Jones, a former teacher and avid bird-watcher from Irvine, who brought her grandchildren to try to catch a glimpse Sunday.

Biologists said their hearts swelled as well, with the excitement of a new scientific mystery and admiration for the birder, Jim Pike, who positively identified the Nutting’s.

Because the Nutting’s closely resembles the dusky-capped and ash-throated flycatchers, which are common to Southern California, it’s possible the Nutting’s has been around for a while but no one noticed, said ornithologist Mike San Miguel, president of the Western Field Ornithologist group.

But the Nutting’s flycatcher has a distinctive whistle, while its look-alikes make a more plaintive, slurred whistle, San Miguel said.

In November, Pike was out birding when he saw what he assumed was a Southern California flycatcher.

“He thought, ‘There’s something wrong about this,’ ” San Miguel said.

It took visits over several weeks, gazing at the bird and listening to its call, before Pike was sure: The bird is native to Sonora.

“How does a Mexican bird like this show up?” asked San Miguel, who has made five trips to glimpse the bird and also has seen it in Mexico. “It’s a real surprise to find that bird in the United States.”

Miguel speculated that because of a prolonged drought in Sonora, this Nutting’s may have come north for food. But he also said one bird does not constitute a migratory trend.

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Drawn by the ornithological puzzle, scientists such as San Miguel continue to visit the park. They are also puzzled by some of the bird-watchers, who, Miguel said, sometimes appear to care more about checking the bird off their lists than about whether environmental trends may have pushed it north.

“There’s a little friction between biologists and bird-watchers,” San Miguel said. “Tickers don’t contribute to the science. You just go down and look at the bird for five minutes and never go back.”

But San Miguel said there is no conflict. Both groups merge at the edge of the trees, united in their excitement.

“Let’s look over here, guys, and see if it could be on this side,” said Jones to her grandchildren.

When Jones came on Saturday, the bird was positively flirting with its audience, singing and flitting from bush to bush, she said.

Sunday morning, bird-watchers were treated to another show, with the bird popping in and out of bushes, giving listers a chance to catalog it from every angle.

But despite the many sets of binoculars Jones and her grandchildren brought, they did not see it Sunday.

Lucille Bowman of Mission Viejo gave up Sunday afternoon, but promised to come back.

“I’m going to keep coming until I see him,” she said.