Winged Wednesday - Catching the Flycatchers

When getting started with backyard birding, you may find that it's easy to attract your first dozen or species by putting up a bird feeder. You may be able to increase the number or frequency by planting certain plants such as Cardinal Flower, Purple Coneflower, or Blue Stem grasses. The birds which can be most difficult to catch a glimpse of are the ones which you can manipulate less easily. Many birds have a diet filled with insects and small invertebrates. In an earlier post, we previewed some of the Thrushes you may encounter in your backyard. This post will focus on Flycatchers.

Eastern Phoebe came buy right after both our yard and our neighbor's yard was mowed.

Flycatchers are birds which specialize in catching flying insects in flight. Often they rely on a technique called hawking. Flycatchers may be found sitting on perches such as fence posts, shrubs, tree limbs, or wires. These energetic birds may bob a bit while perched. They make short flights out to catch insects before returning to their perch.

Common Flycatchers in the Midwest include: Eastern Phoebes, Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Kingbirds, Eastern Wood Peewees, and the Least Flycatcher. Birds like the Eastern Phoebe or the Least Flycatcher may be attracted your neighborhood if there is ample vegetation which provides a woody understory. Cedar Waxwings are often attracted to lawns which have trees or shrubs that fruit such as Pagoda Dogwood, Serviceberry, or the Cockspur or Washington Hawthorns. Kingbirds tend to be more prevalent in rural areas; I can remember seeing them on fence posts while growing up Central Illinois.

Unsure if it's the same Phoebe, but this was from the first time we saw one in the yard which was in 2013.

There are other things you can do as well to attract these birds. Remember that native vegetation supports native insect life, and native insects support native birds. You can also leave the grass of your lawn a little longer, as this will also increase your lawn's insect population. You may also find that after mowing when the insects are all stirred up is exactly when these birds will come to visit.