Great Crested Flycatcher Archives - Window to Wildlife

A pair of Great Crested Flycatchers have been seen in the yard over the last few days. They are currently working on nest building in a Screech Owl house I put up last fall. I have photographed them with nest building materials in their bills and going into the house. A House Wren is occupying a house 10′ from the Screech Owl house. I hope the excitement continues that they raise some young here in the yard. At this time there are Indigo Buntings, House Wrens, Eastern Bluebirds (2nd time this year), and Chipping Sparrows nesting here and most likely Gray Catbirds, Northern Cardinals and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Images were taken on June 8, 2019.

Great Crested Flycatcher exciting the Screech Owl house…

Great Crested Flycatcher with nesting material on the Screech Owl house…

Entering the house with nesting material…

Leaving the house…

Bringing in nesting material…

Great Crested Flycatcher in a near by tree with nesting material…

My day started out meeting up with Anne Moretti and birding at the Beulah Bog in Walworth County. We tried for the White-eyed Vireo and heard it well but just could not get looks at it. I had tried the day before too and heard it numerous times, sometimes very close by but just could not get looks at this bird. It was a great experience birding with Anne as she can just walk down the path and call out all the birds on both sides, it was a first for me experience at that. Her hearing is just incredible along with the knowledge of bird calls. It amazed me! I know other birders do this, and common in the birding world, it was just a great experience. From there I photographed a Great Crested Flycatcher bringing food to the nest hole. For the most part it captured dragonfly species and Mayflies. Once it captured a Admiral Butterfly and perched on a nearby tree limb as it is typical of what it does before it enters the nest hole. The butterfly struggled to get away, still alive, for fear it would lose the butterfly the flycatcher just ate butterfly, pretty cool to see. Some caterpillars were also brought in. The birds tail each time when feeding the young stuck out of the nest hole just a little bit so the young must pretty far down in the nest hole yet. Some Gray Catbirds gave the flycatchers some grief on occasion near the nest hole tree but nothing amounted to anything. Images were taken on June 21, 2016.

Great Crested Flycatcher with a Prince Baskettail

Great Crested Flycatcher

Binomial name: Myiarchus crinitus

Category: Tyrant Flycatchers

Size: 8.75” long, 13” wing span

Weight: 1.2 oz

Great Crested Flycatcher with a Prince Baskettail

Great Crested Flycatcher nest hole

Great Crested Flycatcher with insect

An adult feeding young in the nest hole

Great Crested Flycatcher with a Admiral Butterfly. It ate this butterfly before making it to the nest hole as it appeared it may slip away as it was still alive and it looked like it might get away.