Olive-sided Flycatcher

 The olive-sided flycatcher has a large and diverse breeding range. They breed across Canada, Alaska, the western half of the United States and the northeastern United States. Here in Minnesota they breed in the northeast corner of the state but both of these birds were photographed in the south east part of the state. During the winter these birds migrate to parts of Central America and northern South America.

Olive-sided flycatchers eat flying insects which they usually catch in flight. I watched this bird catch about a half dozen bees with in a few minutes. From his perch on the branch he would fly up into the air, looping around, and then return to his perch with a bee in his beak. Olive-sided flycatchers live in forested habitats. Burned areas are preferred habitat because there is usually plenty of burnt snags for them to hunt fromand not a lot of brush to get in their way while they hunt.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

 The olive-sided flycatcher is a tyrant flycatcher that breeds primarily in the coniferous forests of North America. Their breeding territory consists of most of Alaska and Canada, plus the Rocky Mountain and Appalachian Mountain regions. They winter as far south as central South America. Since they have such a long migration they usually arrive at the breeding territory later then other species and leave earlier. This pic was taken at the beginning of September at the Carpenter Nature Center. Since we do not have the proper breeding habitat for this species, except in the north east corner of the state, I assume that this bird was migrating south and stopped for a lunch break. Olive sided flycatchers almost exclusively eat flying insects. They typically find a perch that is in the open and wait to ambush an insect as they fly by. I watched this one catch and eat several bees, which are one of their main prey species. They also eat wasps, flying ants, moths, grasshoppers and dragonflies.

Olive-sided Flycatcher with Bee

 

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Olive Sided Flycatcher

Olive Sided Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Day 365

Today is a bit of a milestone for the Ecobirder blog. Today is the 365th consecutive day that I have made a post. Before I began the blog I spent quite a bit of time looking at and reading other blogs. One thing that I noticed was the blogs that I kept going back to were blogs that had new content on a regular basis. When I started blogging it took me a while to figure things out and get them going but as I went along I was able to post with more frequency. Then last summer I decided to see how long that I could go with posting at least once every day. That was June 5th 2008 and here it is June 9th 2009 and I have not missed a day.
In celebration of this glorious occasion I give you this series of shots that I took last year at the Carpenter Nature Center of an olive-sided flycatcher who has caught himself a yellow jacket for dinner.

I am not sure how long my streak will continue, there are some days when the blog feels like another job, but either way I will continue do my best to bring you pictures, facts and stories that will inspire, educate and entertain you.

September Birding at Carpenter Nature Center

Last year it seemed to be a good year for spotting olive-sided flycatchers, at least for me it was.
In August I spotted them on several different visits at the Maplewood Nature Center.
At the beginning of September, 9-6, I spotted this bird hunting at the Carpenter Nature Center.
Since we are not really in their range, during the summer they are found in much of Canada and Alaska as well as the western third of the US and they winter in South America, it is not a bird that we typically see during the summer.

They do migrate through the area but August and early September seems a bit early for migration.
Olive-sided flycatchers live in boreal and conifer forest, during the summer, often near to openings such as fields.
They can often be found in burned forests where there is plenty of open space and dead snags to hunt from.
This olive-sided flycatcher was hunting from a dead snag that sits next to the open fields near the Administration Building at CNC
They hunt for flying insects, catching them in the air.

Bees are one of their favorite prey and as you can see in this series this olive-sided flycatcher was successful in catching a yellow jacket.
This species is currently one of special concern due to declines in population through out its range. Since 1966 the population has declined by 67%.
The main reason for the decline is believed to be habitat loss in its wintering ground. In many South American countries forests are being lost to urban and agricultural areas.
The olive-sided flycatcher was not the only predator that I saw on my visit to CNC in September, a red-tailed hawk was also on the look out for lunch.
While red-tailed hawks will eat other birds, the flycatcher was pretty safe because the red-tail seemed more intent on scanning the ground for rodents, their typical prey, then checking out the busy flycatcher.

My World: Maplewood Nature Center

Now that it is April it will not be long before the spring migration reaches Minnesota. Already migrating waterfowl have begun to move into the area and soon they will be followed by waders, raptors, songbirds and the rest.

I am looking forward to getting out to some of my favorite spots and actually getting to see a variety of bird life. One of those spots is the Maplewood Nature Center.

The Maplewood Nature Center is not very large, but it does have some really nice ponds that attract migrating and resident waterfowl.

One of the first ducks to return to the area, other then mallards who stay here year round, are the wood ducks. I have already begun to see wood ducks at several area ponds stacking out their territory.

One of birds that I frequently saw on the ponds of MCC last summer were green herons.

It is fun to watch green herons foraging through the shallow water and thick vegetation looking for small fish and invertebrates.

They slowly wade through the water their heads down and eyes on the water and when they find some prey they strike quickly with their long beak.

Sometimes you see them just sitting motionless at the waters edge waiting for an unwary prey to swim by.

There is also a small tree island in the main pond that was one of the best places that I visited last year to find fly catching birds.

The eastern phoebe is one of the most common flycatchers that we
see in Minnesota.

Another frequent visitor during the summer is the eastern kingbird.

They may not be as bright as their cousins the western kingbird, which are black and yellow, but they have a great personality.

The most exciting flycatcher that I saw at Maplewood was the olive-sided flycatcher. Since we are just at the southern edges of their summer range we do not always see these birds during August, when picture was taken.

It is fun to watch them take off from where they are perched at the top of a tree and do intricate maneuvers in the air. At first you are not sure why they be making acrobatic moves while they fly but when they land if you look closely you will probably see a fly, dragonfly or bee trapped in their beak.