The Alder Flycatcher is a typical spring and summer bird that migrates north to breed. The Alder Flycatcher is commonly misidentified as a Willow Flycatcher and the Willow Flycatcher is often misidentified as an Alder Flycatcher because they are very difficult to distinquish by any feature other than voice. After birding for many years, it becomes somewhat easier to make indentifications by hearing calls or songs of birds in the wild and each bird does have several different types of calls and songs. Sometimes it does get confusing. The birds are playing with us humans :) :) :)
The Alder Flycatcher is about the size of a sparrow or smaller. They blend in very well with vegetation. Sometimes I spend 10, 12+ hours in the woods, sitting for hours in one spot waiting to see what stops by and if you sit long enough in wet thickets you will be rewarded with the presence of an Alder Flycatcher perched and calling in front of you
For me, there is nothing better than sitting in the woods and photographing a new bird to my list, relaxing, enjoying nature and all of God's creation
Some cool facts about the Alder Flycatcher are taken from "The Cornell Lab of Ornithology" website
1. The Alder Flycatcher is so similar to the Willow Flycatcher that they were thought to be the same species. Song is the only definitive way to tell them apart. However, measurements of crown color with a colorimeter, together with other measures of wing shape, bill and tail, may be able to distinguish birds in the hand that are not calling
2. The Alder Flycatcher's nest is a coarse, loose cup that nearly always has material hanging off it. The nest of the Willow Flycatcher tends to be neater, with no hanging material
3. Willow and Alder flycatchers do not respond to playback of recordings of each other's songs, even where their ranges overlap
4. In an experiment on song learning, Alder Flycatchers were "tutored" with Willow Flycatcher song in the first two months of life. The next spring, the Alder Flycatchers sang normal Alder Flycatcher song
5. The longest-lived Alder Flycatcher was over 9 years old, when it was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in British Columbia
My camera equipment:
Canon EOS 60D body
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM for Canon EF mount
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di Vc USD Lens for Canon
All photos are handshot, no tripod
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this post. Have a great day/night wherever you may be
