We had a rare and unexpected visitor in Wisconsin this
week. This Scissor-tailed
Flycatcher caused lots of excitement in the birding community. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is common to Oklahoma and the
states bordering it. He’s a rarity
in Wisconsin, but roundly welcomed when visiting.
The word went out on the Wisbirdn
network of his presence in Cedarburg. There, on the first day, fifty-five
flycatcher fans followed his every move along Pioneer Road. The second day the
crowd was smaller as news spread that he’d departed over the barn at noon, so
ending the excitement.
The departure disappointed many out-state birders who were coming here to see him, but hadn’t yet arrived. The gracious landowner even
agreed to stop plowing his nearby field to accommodate the birders a little longer.
Flycatchers hunt by hawking
flies out of the air. Insects are
scarce at Halloween, so this male seemed to be surviving on invertebrates and berries
tossed up by passing cars on Highway C.
Timing aerial acrobatics between moving cars is a risky
business for a bird, so he had to be quick.
He waited for the traffic to clear momentarily and then flew
out, grabbing tasty morsels off the road…darting back…across the white-line edge…remaining only inches off the pavement…avoiding
certain death. He appeared to be
more brave than bright, but no harm came to him and he was clearly finding enough
food.
I can’t say why he was here in Wisconsin, other than some
birds might be more adventurous than others.
Food was plentiful for him here and
the recent days of fair weather may have enticed him to come farther north than
normal.
If he understands winter, he’ll need to leave soon for
Central America…if he intends to be around next year.
He is a snowbird
in the travelling sense of the word…more so than most. He can’t survive here. I’m sure he knows that.
He’s a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the
far side of Oklahoma who may be pushing his luck.
Allan
HI, Allan,
ReplyDeleteIt must have been exciting to hear about and then to see the flycatcher. Your photos are terrific.
john
Hi Allan. Beautiful series of photos and excellent commentary as usual. I see you were mentioned on wisbirdn.... hopefully will get more people to follow your excellent work! Dave Freriks
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