Thursday, April 19, 2007

Chatterbox Cafe

This Fly Catcher (right?) was making so much noise ... so much different from the other birds noise, that I had to track him down in my forest. That wasn't much of a challenge as he did not shut up until I arrived just beneath him (her?).

When he did notice me, he shut up and checked me out ...

... then turned away, but still kept an eye on me.


He allowed me a few pictures and then flew off in search of lunch, perhaps a brown bag lunch with fancy red antennae.
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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I may be jumping the gun, but the pictures are a perfect post all by themselves- althought the moth looks a little, ah, moth eaten.

Anonymous said...

ha! I kept thinking Gnatcatcher but knew that was wrong. Too early in the morning. Nice bird!

Deb said...

Great Crested Flycatcher maybe? Did it sound kind of like a referee's whistle blowing? They have another call, but I forget how it goes.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Vicky, these are beautiful pictures!!! I don't think I've seen them down this way before, looks like I'll have to keep an eye out for them. Are they seasonal?
Great shot of the Cardinal in the post below as well. Y'all sure are getting a bevy of beautiful birds these days!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a Great Crested Flycatcher to me. For the last two years I've been charmed by a pair that takes up residence and begins to build a half-dozen nests close to the house, then abandons all of them and moves out into the woods.

Our resident flycatcher though is the eastern phoebe. They're always around, perching on the tips of things and scanning for insects. They like the tops of the downspouts of the gutters, and build a couple of nests every year.

Still haven't managed to get a good photo of them, though. Yours are fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Great crested flycatcher it is - they have the most beautiful shade of lemony yellow on their chests!

Gorgeous pics!

I call them "wheepers" for their usual call - sounds like "Wheep!!" over and over from the woods.

Laura @ somewhereinnj

robin andrea said...

I've never seen a flycatcher. What a beautiful bird, and what a fantastic shot. You have been on a roll, FC. Some gorgeous sights in Florida.

Anonymous said...

I have not seen the GFC in Houston so far this year. By virtue of taking the day off for colon screening, I saw the first summer tanager of 2007 at Bear Creek Park yesterday. He gave me a great look perched on a pine bough and singing his heart facing the morning sun. He then flew down closer to give me a better look before flying away.

I noticed over the weekend that there are caterpillars all over and a lot of the birds are carrying insects back to the nest which they only do when there are chicks.

Deb said...

Duh! I call myself a Minnesotan and I didn't pick up the Lake Wobegon reference until 5:00 PM!

R.Powers said...

Vicki,
Thanks, I guess you got here before the muse!

Deb,
You nailed it and that's Minnesotarctican. Glad you got the PHC reference.

Laura,
Thanks!
You can't imagine (actually YOU can) how nice it is to step out your door and have all these things in your yard.

Wayne,
I thought it was GCF, but I was rusty and didn't have time to look it up this AM. I used to have an attic apartment where one of these would fly into the room from time to time.

Laurahinnj,
Yes, that's it ... "wheep!" Thanks for the confirmation :)

Robin,
Oh, then these pics are extra special! I'm still waiting to see a scissor-tailed flycatcher.

Scott,
Seeing a great bird like that is your reward for doing the test we're all supposed to do!

Cathy said...

So glad you got to hear him weeping.

OldHorsetailSnake said...

Cain't hep u with the definition, Cracker. My bird book's only got western in it. Darn pretty, though.

Anonymous said...

You're right. I miss that, very much. Life in the city is starting to get to me! 4 more years till my youngest graduates HS. And then my friend, by the grace of God, I'm heading home!

pissed off patricia said...

When we had tall trees in our yard we used to build nesting boxes for them and they used them. Heaven help a bird who even flies near their active nest as one of the pair will fly down, and land on the bird taking it to the ground before releasing it. Talk about protective! Love the sound of their call and loved watching mom and dad coax the kids out of the box for their first flight.

Anonymous said...

Believe it or not, I stopped by the park on the way home from work yesterday (not a good time of day for birding, but a way to wait out the traffic,) and heard the weeeep of the great crested flycatcher. I could not see him and tried to circle around the little copse of trees to get the sun behind me when I saw some color. It was a beautiful orange and black Baltimore oriole. It is only the second time I’ve seen one. In the meantime the flycatcher kept moving away and I never caught sight of him.

R.Powers said...

Cathy,
It was a happy weep!

Hoss,
... and mine's only eastern! We got a full set between us.

Laura,
Well, you already know this too, but wowsers those 4 years go fast. I can't believe my baby's finishing his 9th grade year already.


POP,
That is too cool. I'd love to see that home defense behavior.

Scott,
Isn't that the way it goes. You go into the woods with one goal, and then something amazing happens. I have never seen a live Baltimore Oriole.