The Backyard Birdman

Ash-throated Flycatcher photo by Frank Kratofil

The Ash-throated Flycatchers are back in a big way!  I currently have three pair nesting and others still checking out nestboxes.  I really love these birds.  See my other post here Ash-throated Flycatchers Nesting In My Backyard .  I love this shot of the flycatcher my friend Frank took with its “crest” standing up like Don King on a good day.  Here are a few pictures of the newly hatched flycatcher chicks I’ve taken in the last couple of days.     

Ash-throated Flycatcher Nest With Eggs photo by Larry Jordan

Ash-throated Flycatcher Chick Just Hatched photo by Larry Jordan

Ash-throated Flycatcher Chicks Day 2 photo by Larry Jordan

Ash-throated Flycatcher Chicks Day 3 photo by Larry Jordan

Ash-throated Flycatcher Chicks Day 6 photo by Larry Jordan

You can see how fast these chicks grow, from just hatched to flying out on their own in less than three weeks!  As a friend of mine said, birds have to learn as much in a day as we humans learn in a year. 

Ash-throated Flycatchers Day 8 photo by Larry Jordan

This was the last photo I got of the nesting Ash-throated Flycatchers.  You can see the chick in front is starting to open its eyes.  The next time I was able to check the nestbox the chicks were over 13 days old and I just peaked into the box to see little birds with tail feathers so I carefully closed the box and left them alone.

These chicks fledged just two days ago and now I hear silky Ash-throated Flycatcher songs all day long.  I hope you will enjoy having either the Ash-throated Flycatcher in the West or the Great Crested Flycatcher in the East nesting with you soon if you have not already experienced them.  Until then…

Happy Birding!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 pm and is filed under Cavity Nesting, Bird Sightings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.