Olive-sided Flycatcher

 

May 16^th

          Mike and I only had time to do some morning birding because I had an important mah jongg game this afternoon.  We decided to go to the Cannonball Prairie Metropark to look for Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrows that can be found here.  We walked out to the grassland area on a very muddy trail due to the recent rain.  Both sparrows were singing and perched up on tufts of grass or little shrubs.  We got good scope views, so this was quick and easy.

          Since we had a little extra time, we drove to nearby Oak Openings Metropark and went to an area nicknamed “tornado alley”.  A few years ago, a tornado tore through this part of the park and knocked over a lot of trees.  There are still quite a few dead snags and certain birds seem to like to perch on top of them.  One such bird is an Olive-sided Flycatcher.  We have seen them in this spot in past years and decided to take a look.

          Once again it was easy.  We ran into some other birders and asked if they had seen an Olive-sided and they pointed us toward the spot where they had seen the bird.  There it was perched on top of a tall dead snag.  These large flycatchers are migrating to their nesting grounds in Canada and Alaska.  They spend much of their time perched high in trees watching for large flying insects. They fly out, seize the prey in their bill and return to the same perch.  The Olive-sided Flycatcher wasn’t singing today but has a distinctive song: a sharply whistled, “Quick, three BEERS!” 

(3 new species, total 261)

Olive-sided Flycatcher (scarce)

Grasshopper Sparrow

Henslow’s Sparrow (scarce)

                                           Olive-sided Flycatcher

                                           Henslow's Sparrow

                                           Red-shouldered Hawk

                                           Red-headed Woodpecker