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"Are Bugs On Your Diet?"
Ash-throated Flycatcher
It's Summer! When driving the roads of Washington County, there are insects everywhere, including on your windshield. Thank goodness these irritating bugs are being harvested by our wonderful birds. Thank goodness they have offspring to feed and bugs are on their diet!
We have several species of flycatchers common in our area. Many are look-alikes, and if you know their different characteristics you will be able to identify them. The Ash-throated Flycatcher is one of those 'can't tell which is which' birds. On our last field trip above Virgin we spotted an Ash-throated Flycatcher. It was spotted because of the rusty color on the tail, the wing, and a pale yellow belly. They are all around, if you know what to look for.
The Ash-throated Flycatcher breeds in desert scrub, riparian forest, brushy pastures, and open woodland from the western US to central Mexico. They nest in natural cavities, abandoned woodpecker holes, behind loose bark, metal fence posts, drain pipes, tin cans, and mailboxes. While the female is building the nest, the male follows, singing and guarding her from advances of other males. This species is primarily an insectivore that flies from a perch to catch prey from the ground, undergrowth, branches and trunks, but hardly ever in midair. When it catches larger prey, it will tenderize the prey by striking it against a branch while holding it with the bill. Unlike other flycatchers, it does not return to the same perch, but to a another one. Noticing characteristics like these will help to identify this flycatcher.
If you want to know more about birds, enhance your life, bring more joy into daily living, then get acquainted with the Red Cliffs Audubon. The next General Meeting will be Wednesday, July 8, 7:00 p.m. at the Tonaquint Nature Center. Come early, enjoy the Pond, and see what Nature has brought to the area at 1851 South Dixie Drive in St. George.