Western Kingbird

 

June 18th

          In my last post, I didn’t mention that after Mike and I saw the Black-bellied Whistling Duck, we made another stop to look for a Western Kingbird.  This bird had been hanging around Glacier Ridge Metro Park which is a little northwest of Columbus. No one had spotted it for several days, but we decided to take a look.  We didn’t find it and figured that it had probably moved on.

          Yesterday, two different birders found the Western Kingbird in the same location.  So, the crazy Gordons decided to drive back down to Columbus and try once again to see the bird.  We got an early start and arrived at the park about 9:15am.  We expanded our search area and pretty quickly found the Western Kingbird perched atop a tall tree.  This was a relief, and we were pretty excited to find it.

          The Western Kingbird is generally found west of the Mississippi River, and it is very rare in Ohio.  It was an Ohio Life Bird for us.  A Western Kingbird is a fairly large flycatcher with a big head, a heavy straight bill, and long wings.  It has a gray head, a yellow belly and a whitish chest and throat.  The tail is black with white outer tail feathers.  It is often found perched on fences and utility lines and catches insects in the air.   (1 new species, total 275)

          Western Kingbird (very rare)

                                            Western Kingbird

                                            Orchard Oriole (female)


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