As I walked out of my garage in the morning I heard the call of a Great Crested Flycatcher. Wow, how exciting as I have not heard the call in the yard for a few years. I looked out across the front yard and I saw a Great Crested Flycatcher flying, carrying nesting material to an old Screech Owl house I built years ago. The house is in pretty rough shape as first a Red Squirrel took it over, then Downy Woodpeckers put a bunch of holes in it and now it is the Great Crested Flycatchers turn to use this house. It will be interesting to see what happens. I have put together a few photos the last couple of days of what is going on with the nest building, the action so far. Hopefully the birds nest and there is a successful event at the end. Temps have been warm with a good amount of sun too. Images have been taken between May 25-27, 2026.
Great Crested Flycatcher, the female does most of the work on the nest…here she is bringing in some material…
The male looks in the house…
Female stops before entering the house…
The male is usually following nearby the female as she gathers material and follows her back to the hole, but not always…
Leaving the nest hole after each time she brings in nesting material…
Not sure what was going on here…
Female stops with nesting material before entering the house on a Chestnut Tree branch…
Bringing in more…this is on going, on and off it appears all day…
Great Crested Flycatchers are using this old beat up house, could seem close to a natural cavity what they typically use. The Great Crested Flycatchers don’t tolerate other birds around as they have chased off Brown-headed Cowbirds and Bluejays if they come into the area…
Wow, these are amazing! I sure wish I’d have some of these amazing birds nest in my yard — they are some of my favorites 🙂 Great pictures, Jim!
Nice photos Jim. We had one of these in our yard last week for the first time ever. Such a striking bird!!
Great photos! Love the house, has a homey feeling to it.
Great pics Jim! Beautiful bird!
Wonderful photos Jim! Your patience is amazing. I appreciate seeing the nesting activity. Birds are amazing, aren’t they?
wow! amazing photos – interesting that Great Crested Flycatchers do not seem nearly as picky about the size of the cavity entrance as some who require specific sizes, i.e. bluebirds, wrens, etc – what a treat you will have to watch and experience this year!
Thank you for all the information. It’s very interesting and fabulous pictures. It’s nice the great crested flycatcher knows how to make do . interesting history on the birdhouse..
I enjoyed hearing about the past dwellers in your birdhouse! What lovely birds you have to watch and enjoy this year. Such a treat when they choose to live near you, isn’t it?