a mysterious flycatcher

There has been a mystery flycatcher hanging around the place for several weeks now. It arrived sometime in early August and takes high perches on hurricane-dead trees all around the marsh periphery. This bird has a dark bull-headed head, a big bill with a pale lower mandible), pointy wings, a short tail (no tail wagging), a white breast (central breast at least) and a looping flight to capture insects between high perches (often returning to the same perch). Once or twice, I saw white patches on the rump leading me to call Olive-sided Flycatcher. But "all" these birds were/are undoubtedly Olive-sided Flycatchers, possibly all the same bird.

I saw this bird (or its twin) many times before and the question is why the ID didn't dawn on me earlier. I suppose that I was looking for those white patches (which mostly don't show) or waiting for a call ("hip-three-beers", apparently the exclusive property of spring migrants and breeding birds). At any rate, with or without the white patches, this bird is an Olive-sided, feeding from dead snags just as it does on its breeding grounds. And it has been here for a good while!

Red-eyed Vireo put in an appearance this morning and there were small groups of American Robins flying in the wrong direction (SE to NW!). Numbers of Tree Swallows came over, feeding in the marsh for a good part of the early morning before moving on; these birds are outliers from the large numbers moving along the barrier beach.

Eric Salzman