Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Alder Flycatchers of the Vermilon River. A Post to WBW

Alder Flycatcher
I had posted these two photos as unknowns in my Warbler post of last week, and requested some ID help. Hilke came up with the ID suggesting they were Alder Flycatchers from their eye ring and prominent carriage, and I expect the wash on their lower chests. Well lo and behold, when I was hiking this week who came to pose for me almost perfectly, I might add, but another of these guys!!
Alder Flycatcher.

Alder Flycatcher.

Alder Flycatcher.

100% blow up.

These photos confirm Hilke's ID. So way to go, Hilke. These birds are illusive and I can attest to that. The common ID is the white eye ring, the triangular head, and the orange lower mandible, as well as the wing bars, although all the websites pointed out the difficulty with identification, and the fact that little is known about the flycatcher group. These guys get their name from from their preference to live in alder groves, where they feed on insects and berries. In this case they're living in the dogwood and pin cherry brush that borders the feeder creek that joins the the Long Lake wetland to the east track wetland. 

By the way the 100% blow up shows the quality of the Sigma 150-500mm. lens. You won't do much better than that.

50 comments:

  1. Ah- such charming pictures!

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  2. i have the hardest time determining different flycatcher breeds. these are really lovely, charming photos!

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  3. A beautiful bird to see Gary you have so much to share from your local area... and I'm so pleased you do.

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  4. I'm a fan of Alders. Flycatchers are so hard to identify a lot times, makes me crazy! Nice shots!

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  5. Beautiful birds and good that you have an ID for them now. btw I have the same lens for my Pentax and am very happy with it.

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  6. What a cute little critter. So bright-eyed. Thanks for the glorious pictures.

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  7. Great images, Gary. I see the Sigma 150 - 500 is performing very well for you!

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  8. Hey Gary! Nice shots of the flycatchers and yes those poses are excellent. Sigmas Bigma 150-500 is a sweet lens, you've proved that. I know I juggled between it and the classic 400mmL that I finally bought for my Canon setup. It sure would be nice to have that extra 100mm of length and the advantage of working it back wider toward the 150mm end would be great. I'm sure you get shots that I can't with the prime. Stellar work Gary!

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  9. Hi there - its nice to have an on-line ID service!

    Cheers - Stewart M

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  10. Isn't it great when someone rises to the occasion and identifies a bird for us? I always appreciate a bit of help.
    They are great little birds.

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  11. if only all birds would pose so thoughtfully for the photographer! Lovely photos,

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  12. Just beautiful. They pass through my property during migration in the spring and usually I get a picture or two, but this spring was so miserable, if they showed up, I wasn't outside to greet them. Their vocalizations usually give them away. Aren't they the ones that say, "Reveal, reveal"?

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  13. Wonderful shots of this lovely little bird!

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  14. Lovely series of images and an illustration of one of the best things about posting to WBW... getting help with ID for birds we don't know. As you might have noticed in my post (thanks for stopping by), when I originally posted I didn't have an ID for the White Wagtail I'd seen in Sweden. A fellow blogger dropped by and gave the ID after I'd seen a very similar bird in the video he posted to WBW and asked him for an assist. :-)

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  15. Gary, Hats off to Hilke for ID'ing this cool bird and to you for getting these great captures!!!
    Give Boomer a pat on the head from me.:)

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  16. In all around value the lens is great mick.

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  17. The trouble with buying brand excluding the camera is the premium you pay for it, Springman.

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  18. The last part I don't know; one of the websites has vocalizations, Karen.

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  19. that´s a flycatcher I didn´t know.

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  20. THAT's the wonderful thing about having these great birders at our disposal...to call upon when needed...Awesome photos---its a beauty!!

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  21. Never heard of this one. What a Beauty & what lovely shots!

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