Flycatcher Beak Count

Flycatchers sometimes get a bad wrap for being troublesome secretive little brown birds with no distinguishing marks. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Yamhill county has 5 species in two very distinctive genera: Empidonax (the little guys) and Contopus (the big guys). Recognizing them should be no trouble to the casual observer with a few characters in mind (their respective dialects are also unmistakable by ear).

So far Hammond's Flycatcher and Olive-Sided Flycatcher have eluded my birding forays and camera lens in Yamhill county, but here's a review of our other Flycatchers.

Pacific-Slope Flycatcher: boasting a prominent white eye-ring and fashionable bi-colored beak, this is the ubiquitous Empidonax flycatcher west of the Rockies. Often heard calling a full hour before sunrise in spring and early summer, they easily get the palm for earliest riser among the songbirds (though Swainson's Thrushes are serious contenders for that distinction).

Willow Flycatcher: less common than the Pacific-Slope and restricted mainly to its namesake shrub, this flycatcher sports a broad, pale bill and a white underside. Generally detected first by its "fitz-bew" call.

Western Wood-Pewee: among the Tyrant Flycatchers, which are larger than the two Empidonax flycatchers above, this flycatcher is very noticeable with a far-carrying call and striking sallies from perches in pursuit of insects (a behavior known as "hawking"). August has been a very busy time for Wood-Pewees, and the little fellas below are the reason why...

Hungry Wood-Pewee babies! They need all the insects they can get before they can migrate to South America for winter.