Tyrant Flycatchers

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Couch’s Kingbird X Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Gray Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens
On 3 December 2004, the day after a Razorbill was reported at Hamlin Beach SP, Dave Tetlow went there with Dominic Sherony in hopes of finding it. Tetlow found an Ash-throated Flycatcher instead. Just like the one he had seen the week before at Cape May, N.J. His plan was to walk back along the shoreline from the Yanty Creek area west towards Parking Lot 4, scoping the lake for the Razorbill. He had gone about 200 yards when he flushed a grayish bird along the brush line, right along the lake. “I thought, ‘Wow, that looks a lot like an ash-throated,’” then figured it would probably turn out to be just a mockingbird. But when he got his binoculars on it, he realized his first hunch was dead on. The yellow on the breast was much less intense than a Great Crested and the bird had a grayish tone on the back. The biggest difference was its much smaller size. “People don’t realize just how much difference there is,” Tetlow said. “You would never mistake an Ash-throated for a Great Crested.”
Background
This species can tolerate high temperatures, can go without drinking water, and nests in relatively small cavities. So it can find a home even in dense desert scrub in its breeding range, which extends across much of the western U.S. into Mexico. Highest numbers, however, are found along riparian corridors. Moreover, it readily adapts to artificial nest boxes and will even make use of hollow metal fence poles, so it has probably increased in numbers and expanded into areas where it had not previously nested. In much of its breeding range it is the only Myiarchus species. The first eastern U.S. vagrant was recorded in Maryland in 1911. Now, “small to modest numbers of individuals . . . recorded annually. . . Improved observer identification skills and increased coverage may have contributed to increased frequency of vagrant records, but these factors do not seem to fully explain the phenomenon.” BBS data show signficantly increased populations. (BNA 664: 1-2, 6, 24) Indeed, notes NYSARC “few vagrants have increased in frequency in NYS as dramatically as has Ash-throated Flycatcher.” Prior to 1996 there were only nine reports for New York. Then three appeared at Long Island on 10 November 1996, and six additional records were accepted by NYSARC for the years 1999-2002, all downstate. (KB 56:15)
Status
Casual, very rare visitor.
Occurrence
Only a single record. 1. One 3-7 December 2004 (D. Tetlow, mob) Hamlin Beach SP. (LG, February 2005) Gale force winds out of the southwest had accompanied a low pressure system that moved into the area prior to the sighting. The location of the bird, right at the brush line along the lake, convinced Tetlow this bird had been blown from the southwest out over the lake, fought its way back to shore, and dropped down at the first available landing spot – unlike the rarities that often turn up in the ditch at the south end of parking lot four. That ditch is probably 250 yards from the shoreline.

Great Crested Flycatcher

(formerly Crested Flycatcher)Myiarchus crinitus
In 1993, this birder undertook a comprehensive survey of all the birds breeding in what later became known as Badgerow Park near his home in Greece.For most species he was able to confirm breeding and even locate one or more nests. One species baffled him, however. Great Crested Flycatchers could be heard wheeping until June 17. And then, silence. It was as if they had disappeared without a trace. Did they nest in the park? It seemed a likely enough place, with plenty of small woodlots, edges and nesting cavities scattered over 50-odd acres. But if so, where? He got his answer during the second Breeding Bird Atlas project ten years later when he stumbled upon a nesting pair quite by accident while looking for Rock Pigeon nests under a railroad overpass off the north end of the park. A Great Crested was calling loudly right next to it, perched near a tall tree stump with two or three large cavities at the edge of a woodlot. The birder sat behind a guard rail of the Lake Ontario State Parkway, watching through binoculars. Soon the flycatcher was perched right next to the cavities and the birder could see what appeared to be another adult in the top cavity. Closer inspection revealed a little nestling peeking out the top cavity. The Badgerow birder was not alone in his initial perplexity. Emanuel Levine echoes other observers in stating that “although the Great Crested Flycatcher is very vocal in the early part of the breeding season, it becomes quiet and more difficult to find as the season progresses.” (Andrle, p. 260)
Background
This species has benefited from the fragmentation of forests, preferring small woodlots and woodland edges. However, “unless you hear its loud, harsh calls, the rather secretive Great Crested Flycatcher is easily overlooked in foliage of a suburban lot or woodland,” notes Wesley Lanyon in his profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. It nests in cavities throughout the United States east of the Great Plains, and into southern Canada, wintering in Central and South America. Much has been made of its occasional use of shed snakeskin in its nest construction, but this is “more likely a response to crinkly texture (plastic wrappers will do) rather than a strategy to frighten predators.” Appears to be holding its own, “perhaps because of wide spectrum of nesting habitats, tolerance for wide range of kinds and sizes of nest cavities, and tolerance for human intervention.” (BNA 300: 1-2, 14) Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a common summer resident in Monroe County, and fairly common in Livingston and Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of 12, on dates ranging from 3 May to 16 September.When Leo Tanghe examined 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this species showed up on 97 of 259 June-August lists within a 50-mile radius of Rochester, only about half as often as Eastern Kingbird and Wood Pewee. However, it was among the flycatchers most frequently reported in May, with 167 sightings. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4B) In 1953, Tanghe listed this as a common breeder in the Rochester area, specifically listing the Burroughs-Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and Palmers Glen on the west side of Irondequoit Bay as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular common summer resident.
Occurrence Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 26 April (1957) to 14 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 3 to 9 May. Subsequently, one 23 April 1994 (K. and C. Griffith) at Greece was record early. (GOS, June 1994)
Spring maxima: 21 on 22 May 1983 (D. Bassett) Letchworth SP. (GOS, September 1983)
Summer/breeding status: This species nests in tree cavities in a variety of forested and more open habitat, though it prefers deciduous or mixed woodland, and is not found in spruce-fir forests. A pair used nest boxes at Genesee Country Nature Center in 1995. (KB 45:289) This species usually forages high up in the canopy, which helps explain the difficulty of locating these birds once they enter their “quiet” stage.Nonetheless, confirmed or probable breeding was found in the vast majority of blocks assigned to our region during both BBA projects.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 7 September to 5 October (1974), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 10 to 20 September. One very late sighting at Henrietta – 13 November 1981 (K. Murphy) – “may have been an extraordinarily late departure date, or a casual, early winter visitant.” It was “carefully studied to eliminate Western Kingbird and Ash-throated Flycatcher.” (AL, p. 39, KB32: 41)Note: Another was reportedly seen 15 November 1959 at Mendon Ponds (WBR, 23 November 1959) but was not reported in either the Kingbird or unpublished Genesee Ornithological Society noteworthy sightings now on file at Rush-Rhees Library.

Western Kingbird

(formerly Arkansas Kingbird)Tyrannus verticalis
“There’s a kingbird,” Mike Tetlow told his dad, Tom, as they drove north of Macedon on 20 September 1975. “It seemed a little late for Eastern kingbirds,” John Brown reported, so the elder Tetlow stopped for a look. “It seemed more like an odd-plumaged Great Crested Flycatcher, possibly an immature bird . . . and, for the moment, he let it go at that.” The more Tetlow thought about it, however, the more it bothered him, and half a mile down the road he stopped and leafed through his Peterson Guide. “The picture of a Western kingbird . . . leaped out at him.” Back they went, where the bird was still on the wire. The Tetlows quickly confirmed it was a Western, and many other observers were able to see it later in the day. (BA, 24 September 1975)It was only the fourth Western Kingbird ever seen in our region.
Background
This conspicuous songbird nests across virtually all of the western half of the United States, into southern Canada and northern Mexico, inhabiting a wide range of riparian forests and woodlands, savannahs, shrublands, pastures, croplands, deserts and even urban areas. All it requires are open areas for feeding and trees and shrubs for nesting and perching. Tree planting enabled this species to spread gradually into the Dakotas and southern Canada; tree removal and a proliferation of utility poles and wires helped it increase in Texas. Numbers are still increasing slightly. Winters primarily in Mexico, Central America and southern Florida. Vagrants occur annually (but rarely), mainly in fall, along the Atlantic Coast north to Massachusetts. (BNA 227: 1-2,) Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a sporadic, very rare visitant.
Occurrence
Most often seen in September when this bird, normally found west of the Mississippi River, is prone to wander. “Western Kingbirds are regular fall migrants to coastal New York but remain much rarer inland,” NYSARC notes. (KB52:16) One 13 September 1952 Sodus Bay (KB 2:70) was found by Listman, Van Beurden and Schaefer perching and flying after insects on the west side of Sodus Bay “at times not more than 40 feet away.” (WBR, 22 September 1952) 2. One 6 September 1959 (Kemnitzers) near Shore Acres. (KB 9:162) Bea and Allen Kemnitzer, looking for golden plovers along the west lakeshore, noticed “an active group of Eastern kingbirds” along North Hamlin Road “They seemed to be diving and flying at a perched individual as if in an effort to drive it away.” (BA, 10 September 1959) The object of their attention had a yellow belly, white outer tail feathers and lack of a terminal tail band, which quickly added up to the first Western Kingbird ever seen in Monroe County. At least two other birders – Walt Listman and Warren Lloyd – were able to observe it. 3.One 16 September 1968 (Benning) perched on a wire two miles west of the village of Wolcott. (KB 19:27) 4. One 20 September 1975 (M. and T. Tetlow, mob) at Macedon. (KB 26:38) 5. One 15 September 1979 (Davids, Griffith) near the intersection of North Hamlin and Walker-Lake Ontario roads, Hamlin. (KB 30:32; BA, 19 Sept 1979) 6. One 29 September 1979 (F. Dobson, Kesselrings) Carlton. (KB 30:32) 7. One 12 September 1986 (Griffith) Edgemere Drive, Greece was “observed at close range” as it “fought a stiff breeze in order to stay perched on a wire.” (KB 37:35) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 37:206) 8. One 5 September 1988 (J. and A. Foster) along Roots Tavern Road. (KB 39:41; Fox, p. 64) 9. One 24-30 September 1997 (Evans, S. and S. Kelling) Lyons. (KB48:49) 10. Two 30 August 2000 (McKinney, O’Hara, et al), North Hamlin Road, Hamlin. (KB 50:402) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 52:300) 11. One 8 December 2001 (D. Tetlow) Hamlin. (LGNR) 12. One 20 September 2003 (R. Spahn, S. Taylor) seen for 15 seconds as it flew along the lakeshore, Hamlin Beach SP. (KB 54:56) Not accepted by NYSARC. (KB 56: 34) (NOTE: The Monroe County annotated list indicates a second Monroe County record in “August 1975.” However, there is no reference to this bird in the Goshawk, Little Gull or Kingbird. Also, Frank Dobson reported that a bird on GOS trip in 1991 seen flying only a few seconds near Round Pond fit the description of Western Kingbird – see Birds, 20 Oct 1991. However, there is no record in the Goshawk, Little Gull or Kingbird.) 13. One 19 June 2010 photographed by T. Constas near the edge of a clearing in the “Big Woods” area of the new T of Webster trails between Drum Rd and Pellet Rd. 14. One found and photographed by Jim Tarolli on the wire along Van Dyne Spoor near the edge of the village of Savannah on 5 October 2012 and seen later that day by several others.

Couch’s Kingbird X Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

One of the most intriguing and ultimately baffling birds ever recorded in our region was the Western Kingbird that wasn’t.When Gary Chapin spotted a flycatcher hawking insects along River Road near Geneseo on 9 November 2003, it had the characteristic yellow underparts and, when it flew, showed the white outer tail feathers of a Western Kingbird. Moreover, it was the time of year when Westerns tend to show up in our region. Fortunately the bird lingered, and that’s when the fun began. “Enter the Internet as probably the greatest single new tool to affect the birding identification scene in recent years,” Bob Spahn and Kevin McGowan wrote in their Kingbird account of the sighting. (KB 54: 2-13)When Chapin relocated the bird a week later, Matt Victoria, Willie D’Anna and other birders digiscoped the bird. Victoria posted photos on his Web site, where they were seen by Jay McGowan who immediately noticed that the bill seemed too big, the chest too pale and the yellow too extensive up the shoulder. D’Anna, too, began raising questions. There was an unusual arrangement of the tail feathers and a hint of green on the mantel that “pointed away from Western Kingbird,” the New York State Avian Records Committee noted in its discussion. (KB 56: 16) Couch’s or Tropical kingbird were believed to be possibilities.Jay McGowen's Ebird report with pics: https://ebird.org/checklist/S10073994Jim Kimball's Audio: https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/176696D’Anna’s photos were posted, this time on Angus Wilson’s Web site. Soon, birders all over the country were weighing in, many of whom were familiar with all these species. They included David Sibley, author of an acclaimed field guide. (LG, January 2004) “A short way into the debate,” notes NYSARC, Bruce Anderson of Winter Park, Fla, “made the insightful observation that this might in fact be a hybrid between Western Kingbird and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.”In the meantime, Jim Kimball followed up with many visits to observe the bird, even bringing along taped calls of all the kingbird species in question. Interestingly, the bird did not react to songs or calls of Western, Cassin’s or Tropical kingbirds or Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, but did respond “vigorously” to Couch’s Kingbird calls. “It flew over his head and perched close by, delivering calls that were more extended, and somewhat like Couch’s Kingbird,” Spahn and McGowan reported.Photos posted online allowed close examination of the bird from every conceivable angle. These were compared with “skins” of collected birds in a collection at Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Kevin McGowan of the laboratory and local birder Bob Spahn, both of whom had observed the bird “live,” then “developed a robust argument” that the “most likely parentage was in fact a hybrid between Couch’s Kingbird and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,” which had never been documented. (KB 56:16) Ironically, all these latest techniques of digiscoping and web-posting had raised possibilities that ultimately could only have been resolved by resorting to the old practice of “collecting” the bird, then closely examining the skin and/or submitting it to yet another modern technology, DNA testing.

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus
One of these black and white flycatchers sat atop a post next to a local marsh one late August morning, “perfectly content to mind its own business until two young black terns came too close,” Frank Dobson reported. “In its usual aggressive manner, the kingbird took after the terns. The kingbird wheeled and twisted and turned in hot pursuit of the terns for some time before they broke off, deciding they had better things to do with their day. “Kingbirds are well named. Most of them think nothing of taking after a crow or even a hawk.” (Birds, 24 August 1986) Indeed, this species is legendary for its vigorous defense of nests. Blue Jays have been literally knocked out of trees, and an American Kestrel was observed lifting a kingbird off the back of a Red-tailed Hawk that the kingbird was harassing. The raised red crown stripe and red gape revealed when the mouth is opened wide during such encounters can be startling. (BNA 253: 10)
Background
These aggressive birds are the most widely distributed of the Tyrannus flycatchers found north of Mexico, occupying open spaces not only across all of the eastern United States, but into the Great Plains and Far West, reaching the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia. This species probably benefited from the opening of eastern forests, and from planting of trees and erecting of fence lines in the Plains. Pairs that survive to the following year usually return to the same breeding territories and remate with each other. On the Amazonian wintering grounds most birds travel in flocks and switch to feeding on fruit. BBS suggests overall stable populations, though declines were registered in the east between 1982-1991. This may be due in part to loss of small farms and reforestation of abandoned farmland. These losses have been offset by increases in central and western portion of range. (BNA 253: 1-3, 17, 19)
Local history
“It is a common sight to see this bird seated on top of a mullein stalk, fence post, telegraph wire or the peak of an apple tree, on the lookout for beetles, bees, grasshoppers, moths and flying insects of all kinds,” Eaton (1914) wrote. He considered it a common summer resident in Monroe and Wayne counties, and fairly common in Livingston. (Eaton II: 183, I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to four birds, with a maximum count of 20, on dates ranging from 16 April to 21 September.When Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this species was in a virtual tie with Eastern Wood Pewee as the most frequently encountered summer flycatcher, showing up on 186 of 259 June-August lists within a 50-mile radius of Rochester. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4B)In 1953, Tanghe listed this as an abundant breeder in the Rochester area, specifically listing Lakeshore Country Club and Ling Road as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common summer resident and an exotic, very rare winter visitant (one record: 21 December 1958).Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 15 April to 8 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 29 April to 5 May. However, one on 13 April 1984 (S. Spahn) at Webster was earlier. (GOS, June 1984)At least thirty were at Nations Road (R. Childers) on 29 May 1984. (Fox, p. 65)
Summer/breeding status: As Steven C. Sibley notes, “The Eastern Kingbird has proven very adaptable and can be found today in almost all open habitats, often in close association with humans.” (Andrle, p. 262) It perches prominently, is very vocal, aggressively pursues crows and other intruders, and constructs easy-to-find nests, which no doubt helped atlasers find evidence of breeding in almost every block assigned to Region 2 during both BBA projects.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 2 September to 10 October (1978), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 9 to 21 September. The 10 October 1978 sighting by Norm Henderson represented not one, but seven birds at Island Cottage Wood. (GOS, December 1978) Subsequently, one found in Greece on 23 October 1989 by Frank Dobson was considered a record late bird. (GOS, December 1989) Migrating birds are sometimes seen in flocks.
Fall maxima:47 on 1 September 1974 (Lloyd) were migrating at Mendon Ponds. (KB25: 37)100 on 5 September 1971 (J. Doherty) in a loose flock at Braddock Bay “apparently resting en route south.” (KB 22:31)
Winter: The Monroe County annotated list cites one instance, 21 December 1958. (AL, p. 39) However, there is no mention of this in the Kingbird or in the unpublished noteworthies list of the Genesee Ornithological Society, now on file at Rush-Rhees Library.

Gray Kingbird

Tyrannus dominicensis
Dave Tetlow and his wife Kathy had just driven south over the Salmon Creek bridge on Manitou Road when he saw the bird out of the corner of his eye, perched on a telephone wire. It was a flycatcher. Big-headed. Big-billed. Light – but not yellow – underneath. And too bulky to be an Eastern Kingbird.Tetlow knew in an instant it was a Gray Kingbird, a species normally found in Florida. “Holy ----” he exclaimed more than once, as he and his wife turned around in the next driveway they came to. “It was eating like crazy,” Tetlow said. “It was grabbing an insect every five to ten seconds. Just constant, constant, constant.” Fortunately, like many other stray flycatchers that show up here far out of their normal ranges, this one stayed long enough – 1-4 October 2005 – for lots of area birders to get a look at it.During that time, Tetlow continued to marvel at the bird’s flycatching abilities. Occasionally it would fly down into open patches in the nearby cattails, but mostly it flew out over the marsh, almost always upwards 20 to 100 feet, coming back with “decent sized” insects – apparently beetles or wasps – in its bill. Every time it went up, Tetlow and other birders would focus their binoculars skyward, trying to pick out the insects it was feeding on.“We couldn’t see them. But it (the bird) obviously could, and that was impressive in itself.”
Background
This large, boisterous flycatcher “seems to have thrived as native forests have been destroyed,” finding its home among the mangrove swamps of Florida and the Caribbean region. “Its petulant voice and feisty disposition have given it almost folk-hero status,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. It “perches in the open, snapping up flying insects, thus paying rent for the territories it claims and for its harassment of family dogs.” Vagrants have been found as far away as British Columbia. (BNA 668:1, 3)
Status
Casual, very rare visitor
Occurrence
Two records. One 31 October-4 November 1987 in Tyre, Seneca County, at Armitage Road and Route 89 – about 100-200 yards south of the Wayne/Seneca County line. It obligingly flew across the road into Wayne County from time to time, allowing our region to share this first upstate record (KB 38:36; GOS, April 1988). Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 38: 231) Tetlow’s bird 1-4 October 2005 at Greece, viewed by many birders. (LG, December 2005)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus
Bea Kemnitzer and the other birders in her party could hardly believe what they were seeing on 18 May 1952 at Rigney’s Bluff – “a long-tailed bird flying westward along the lakefront . . . which apparently could be little else than a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.” “I was astounded and amazed,” Kemnitzer wrote. However, the Goshawk noted, “the members of the Statistical Committee, some of whom were present at the time, feel that this record should be placed on the hypothetical list since the observation was not completely satisfactory.” (GOS, May/Aug 1952) It is all the more remarkable, then, that John Bull (1974), usually ultraconservative about accepting sight records, would include this among 13 apparently “reliable” sightings in New York State. (Bull, p. 366) It would be nearly half a century before another sighting of this spectacular species would occur in our region that everyone could agree upon.
Background
This elegant, extraordinarily long-tailed bird perches conspicuously on wires or fences, swooping gracefully to snatch insects in midair or pick them off the ground. It breeds in open savanna, grasslands, shrubland and agricultural and urban habitats in the southcentral U.S. and northeastern Mexico, migrating relatively short distances to winter in similar habitat in Central America. Vagrants show up in east more frequently in spring than in fall. This species has been expanding its range to the east and west, aided by clearing of woods for agriculture and pasture. (BNA 342: 1, 3, 5)
Status
Sporadic, very rare visitant.
Occurrence
One on 18 May 1952 (B. Kemnitzer, McKinney) at Rigney’s Bluff (see above), treated as hypothetical by GOS but listed by Bull.One 26 May 1998 (Dombrowski) at Nations Road near Avon. (KB 48:222) An adult photographed on 2 August 2000 (Deprez) at Conesus (KB 53:297) and accepted by NYSARC. “Mark Deprez first discovered this flycatcher and also submitted color photographs,” according to NYSARC. “The bird was actually identified later by Jim Kimball. Kurt Fox forwarded additional photographs to the committee. The images clearly show an adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher as indicated by the red-pink underwing and flanks. Unfortunately, no other details of the sighting were provided.”

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus savanna
Hedy and Bob Marcotte were taking their Sunday afternoon drive along the west lakeshore on 7 October 1990, Hedy driving and Bob watching out the window, when they turned east on Moscow Road. A bird perched on a telephone line drew Bob’s attention; from a distance, there seemed to be a long streamer or something snagged on the line extending down next to the bird. Only as the car passed underneath did Bob realize it was the bird’s tail.“My God! You’ve got to stop the car!” he told Hedy. In the next hectic moments, Bob used a neighbors’ phone to call his birding mentor, Kevin Griffith, and set up his spotting scope to keep watch from a safe distance. The wait for other birders to arrive was agonizing. At one point, when a van drove by, the bird dove down out of sight behind a clump of bushes and trees. Long moments passed. Bob worried the bird wouldn’t reappear. It did.Without a field guide handy, Bob assumed it was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. When Kevin arrived, he took one look and shouted, “It’s a fork-tailed flycatcher!” Hedy, a nonbirder, was worried. She anxiously asked Kevin if that was “better or worse” than a Scissor-tailed! Kevin “simply turned his thumb up and dashed for his van, muttering ‘camera, camera.’” (GOS, December 1990)
Background
“The Fork-tailed is a rare example of a neotropical resident species that strays regularly to the northeastern United States and Canada. Most thought to be migratory "overshoots" of South American individuals (including young birds) moving northward after the breeding season in southern South America. Often perches on roadside wires or fences,” notes an online account of this species at eNature.com. Adds Wikipedia: “This bird occurs in a wide variety of habitats including pastures, riparian forests, and open residential areas with scattered trees. Its breeding range is found from central Mexico to central Argentina where it is usually found year round except for the southern parts of its range where it retreats northward for the winter. This species is also known to wander widely.”
Status
     Casual, very rare visitor.
Occurrence
     1. One 7-15 October 1990 (B. and H. Marcotte, Griffith, mob) at Hamlin. (KB 41: 32) During its stay, this bird often sallied from prominent perches in an open field in search of prey. This delighted nearly 1,000 birders who came from across the United States and neighboring Canadian provinces. (GOS, December 1990) One birder even called from San Francisco, one day too late, wondering if he should board a plane. Jim Fischer of 500 Moscow Road maintained a sign-in sheet showing that just on 13-14 October birders had come from such “far flung’ locales as Washington, Utah, California and Louisiana (GOS, March 1991). But the long stay eventually dismayed some of the neighbors who tired of all the commotion along their quiet rural road. Framed photographs of the bird were later presented by the GOS and RBA to affected homeowners (GOS, December 1990). See KB 41:2-4 for a photo and writeup of this sighting. See also articles in the Times-Union on 11 and 17 October and in the Democrat and Chronicle on 12 October. Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 42:6)
      2. An immature 28 September 2003 (R. and S. Spahn) at Sodus (GNR) was not accepted by NYSARC. “The observer spotted this unfamiliar bird perched on a roadside wire whilst he was driving and immediately turned the car around,” the committee noted. “By the time he had reached the spot, the bird had moved but he was able to see it briefly a couple of more times in the nearby field. After consulting references later that evening, he concluded that this must have been a Fork-tailed Flycatcher that was missing the long tail extensions. These distinctive feathers are often dropped or broken. The report described the pure white underparts and gray back contrasting with darker wings and tail. The observer also noted that the head shape was wrong for Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), although this key point was not addressed in detail. Given the limitations of the sighting, the Committee felt that Eastern Kingbird could not be ruled out on the basis of the brief details provided.” (KB 56: 34)

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi
“Pi-pi-pi-pi.” The song of a Blackpoll warbler came weakly from a tree line in Badgerow Park. And directly overhead, high up in the dead tree snags along the creek, sat a large-headed flycatcher. This birder knew instinctively, even before he put his binoculars on it, what the bird would be. An Olive-sided Flycatcher – sitting in the same snags this migrant visits late each spring and early each August. It flew out after an insect, shaping half a circle, before it returned to perch, once again in a dead snag. The birder moved along the path until he could focus on it head on. The contrast between the darkly streaked sides and the center of the breast was startling, almost as if whitewash had been allowed to run down from the bird’s throat. The birder waited, half hoping the flycatcher would give its distinctive song. Pi-pi-pi-pi was all he heard. The blackpoll was moving closer. Even if the birder hadn’t known the date, May 25, 2006, the presence of an Olive-sided Flycatcher and Blackpoll Warbler in the same place, at the same time, was pretty solid evidence that the last stage of the spring migration was at hand… A late September cold front in 1974 left John Brown’s yard in Scottsville “dotted with Flickers and Robins” early the next morning, while small groups of warblers moved through the trees. “But the prize bird of the day . . . was an Olive-sided flycatcher which chose the dead top of an ailing cherry tree for its preening and feeding perch.” (BA, 25 September 1974) “As I looked at this one through binoculars, it started preening and the two white patches in the lower back, at first invisible, were suddenly glaringly obvious. These ‘shirttails’ and the ‘open vest’ look from the front are good field marks.” Opportunities to enjoy this unique flycatcher may be lessening, however, as its numbers decline over much of its breeding range.
Background      “With its loud and resounding song – quick THREE BEERS! – and its position of prominence perched atop a large tree or snag, the Olive-sided Flycatcher is one of the most recognizable inhabitants of North America’s coniferous forest,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. It breeds from Alaska across Canada, south through California and the Rocky Mountains and into the northern Great Lakes and New England, preferring forest edges and openings. “Tall, prominent trees and snags, which serve as singing and foraging perches, and unobstructed air space for foraging, are common features of all nesting habitats.” This species preys almost exclusively on flying insects, especially bees, flying out to grab its prey, then often returning to the same perch. It has declined significantly during the past 30 years, an apparent contradiction given the fact that this species seems to benefit when forest harvesting creates the openings and edge habitats it prefers. Deforestation on its South American wintering grounds may be a contributing factor. Also, “Olive-sided Flycatchers may have evolved to depend on natural disturbances, particularly forest fires, that create forest openings and naturally patchy habitat with abundant edge. Thus, fire suppression policies of (the) last 50-100 yr may have reduced suitable habitat, especially for breeding.” (BNA 502: 1-2, 19)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as an uncommon migrant in Monroe County, with no indication of occurrence in either Livingston or Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average spring counts of one to a maximum of two birds, on dates ranging from 14 to 31 May. Fall counts averaged one or two birds, with a maximum count of three, on dates ranging from 24 August to 11 October. “Between 1915 and 1951 there were only five records. There may have been one or two records in the last four years,” Brown wrote in 1955. (BA, 26 May 1955) A year later he claimed that “the Monroe County records for this bird in the last 40 years can probably be counted on the fingers of both hands.” (BA, 16 August 1956)Indeed, when Leo Tanghe analyzed the tallies from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, he found this species reported only five times within a 50-mile radius of Rochester, three sightings in spring and two in fall, and all individual birds. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4B)As recently as 1952, Olive-sided Flycatcher was among 20 species marked by an asterisk on GOS checklists, “for which a detailed observation (report) is required” because of “difficulty of identification or rarity.” (GOS, May/August 1952)It seems hard to imagine this bird would have been overlooked, so distinctive is its song and its habit of perching in the tops of dead snags.It was also regarded as almost exclusively a spring migrant here. In 1959, for example, Edson wrote that “it appears with us only as a late May migrant.” (WBR, 1 June 1959) Now it is reported in the same snags starting in early August during its southward migration.
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, rare spring transient and an irregular, rare fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this an irregular rare spring and (presumably) irregular rare fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 3 to 30 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 13 to 21 May. One at Braddock Bay on 30 April 2004 (M. Tetlow) set a new record early date. (GOS, July 2004)     In most years had departed by 3 June, with a late departure date of 16 July.    Eight records in early June 1978 and three in late August made for a very good year for local sightings of this species. (KB28: 239) More than a dozen were sighted during the last 10 days of May 1982. (KB32: 191)
Spring maxima:   5 on 3 June 1979 (M. Carlson, Perrigo, Madden) west lakeshore. (KB 29:217) Summer: This bird’s breeding range in New York State is confined primarily to the Adirondacks and, to a lesser extent, the Catskills, where resurgent beaver populations have created the small ponds and bogs this species favors for its nesting sites. (Andrle, p. 244) A very unusual summer record was one found dead by the Dobsons on 4 July 1988 at Greece. (GOS, August/September 1988) One on 1 August 1981 (Listman, Ladwig) at Island Cottage (LG, September 1981) was not listed as record early, and hence must have been considered a summer visitor as well.   Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 9 August (1977) to 6 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 16 August to 1 September. Subsequently one on 3 August 1995 (Marcotte) Badgerow Park, Greece, was an earlier “first of fall” (GOS, October 1995), but note other early August sighting above. The late departure date was 11 October.

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Contopus virens
“When the still heat lies on the land like a blanket you can feel but cannot see, and the leaves of the trees droop unmoving in the breathless late afternoons and evenings of August, most birds seem to have forgotten how to sing. “Cicadas, crickets, tree toads and others collaborate to produce a shrill, pulsating, endless chorus. But in the woods and where there are large shade trees, the plaintive notes of one bird provide auditory relief from the monotonous toad-insect medley.”  John Brown thus described the pee-a-wee, pee-yur song of the wood pewee, “a pleasant, melancholy thing that takes some of the curse off the dog days.” (BA, 4 August 1955)
Background
This flycatcher breeds “in virtually every type of wooded habitat in the east, from urban shade trees, roadsides, woodlots and orchards to mature forest,” notes John P. McCarty in his profile of this species for The Birds of North America. It perches on dead branches in the canopy or subcanopy, flying out to catch insects. Where it overlaps with Least and Great Crested flycatchers, the pewee uses feeding perches of intermediate height, above Least, but below the Great Crested. Its lichen-covered nest often appears as little more than a knot on the top of the supporting branch. Size of woodland fragments does not seem to affect this species; it can use both edge and suburban habitats. Though still considered common in much of its range, it had declined significantly from the 1970s into the mid 1990s, perhaps in part because of heavy browsing of forests by an overpopulation of white-tailed deer. (BNA 245: 1, 5)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed it as an abundant summer resident in Monroe County, and common in neighboring Livingston and Wayne counties. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of two to five birds, with a maximum count of 25, on dates ranging from 14 April to 3 October. When Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 sightings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this species was in a virtual tie with Eastern Kingbird as the most frequently encountered summer flycatcher, showing up on 184 of 259 June-August lists within a 50-mile radius of Rochester. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4B) In 1953, Tanghe listed it as a common breeding species in the Rochester area, listing the Burroughs-Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and Mendon Ponds Park as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953) Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 29 April to 25 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 10 to 19 May. Subsequently, one on 21 April 1990 (Reinhardt) at Island Cottage set a new record early date. (GOS, June 1990)
Spring maxima: 19 banded on 18 May 2004 (BBBO) at Manitou. (GOS, July 2004) 28 banded on 27 May 2007 (BBBO) at Manitou. (LG, July/August 2007)
Summer/breeding status: Woodlots, parks, forest openings and margins are the preferred nesting sites of the “most well-known of the woodland flycatchers.” (Andrle, p. 246) It is well adapted to the fragmented habitat that occurs across much of our region. Evidence of breeding was found in almost every block assigned to Region 2 during the BBA projects.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 3 September to 11 October (1970), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 15 to 27 September. This appears to have overlooked or discarded one on 16 October 1979 (K. Doris, E. Weld) at Island Cottage Wood that was even later. (GOS, December 1979) Subsequently, one on 22 November 1999 (D. Tetlow) at Rochester was record late. (GOS, January 2000)

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Empidonax flaviventris
For casual birders who keep yearly lists of species seen, this one can be a bit troublesome. Consider: Like most of the epidomax tribe, it can be tough to identify in fall when it is unlikely to be singing. That leaves spring when, alas, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers tend to migrate through after most other species, and are seen in largest numbers about the first of June, when a profusion of foliage – and sheer burnout – has sent all but the hardcore birders packing. “Usually, when the little Yellow-bellied flycatchers arrive, the peak of the spring migration is past,” John Brown noted. (BA, 29 May 1958)
Background
One of this continent’s most reclusive and overlooked birds, this species breeds in an “elfin world of sphagnum mosses, bunchberry, twinflower, and goldthread under the shady boughs of conifers,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. It prefers cool, moist conifer or mixed forests, bogs, swamps and muskegs – landscapes that are often flat or poorly drained – across much of boreal Canada south into the western Great Lakes region and extreme Northeast U.S. Nests on or near the ground. “Timbering, drainage of bogs, and agricultural development have surely eliminated Yellow-bellied Flycatcher from southern edges of range in Canada . . .” and this species is also declining on part of its wintering grounds in the rain forests of Mexico due to deforestation. Population trends difficult to assess because this species is “notoriously” overlooked on breeding bird surveys and atlases. Association of this species with moss suggests that it may be especially vulnerable to forest fragmentation that leads to dessication of ground cover. (BNA 566: 1, 3, 12, 14)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as an uncommon transient visitor in Monroe County, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston or Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm, with a maximum count of only three, on dates ranging from 2 May to 18 September.When Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951-1954, he found this species reported only 24 times within a 50-mile radius of Rochester. And all but two of the sightings were last half of May into early June. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4B) Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring transient and an irregular, rare fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this an irregular rare spring transient and a (presumably occasional) rare fall transient.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 18 April to 26 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 13 to 22 May. In most years had departed by 4 June, with a late departure date of 23 June. Note: The 18 April date was apparently either overlooked or discounted when one on 4 May 2001 at Island Cottage was reported record early in the Kingbird. (KB 51:698) This migrant reaches peak numbers here in late May/early June. Of the 30 most common species banded in spring at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 25th with 335 birds taken from the nets. Spring maxima: 34 on 27 May 2001 (D. Tetlow, Davids) along the west lakeshore. (GNR) 28 banded on 27 May 2007 (BBBO) at Manitou. (LG, July/August 2007) 16 banded on 28 May 1993 (Brooks) at Manitou. (GOS, July/August 1993) 31 banded on 29 May 1997 (Brooks) at Manitou. (GOS, July/August 1997) 13 banded on 31 May 2002 (BBBO) at Manitou. (GNR) 20 on 1 June 1952 (Listman) lakeshore. (GOS, May/August 1952) 14 on 1 June 1965 (Lairn) at Bushnell’s Basin. (GOS, September 1965) 13 banded on 1 June 1996 (G. Jones) at Manitou. (GOS, September 1996) 28 banded on 5 June 2007 (McKinney) at Manitou. (LG, September 2007) 12 banded on 6 June 1965 (Leubner) at Manitou. (GOS, September 1965) 16 banded on 7 June 2003 (BBBO) at Manitou. (GNR) 19 banded on 11 June 1998 (D. Bonter) at Manitou. (GOS, September 1998) Summer: This ground nesting species breeds in damp, shaded spruce and hemlock forests, as those found in the Adirondacks and Catskills, but is not known to nest in our region. So one at Rose’s Marsh on 30 July 1974 – the same year Cattle Egrets bred there – was quite unusual. (KB24: 190) Fortunately, the bird was “still in voice,” John Brown noted. Michael Carlson, who located the bird, “made complete notes on its appearance and vocal efforts which were readily accepted . . . by the statistical committee of the Genesee Ornithological Society.” (BA, 7 August 1974)Another “seen and heard” on 11 July 1965 (Kemnitzers) in the Bristol Hills prompted speculation about possible nesting. (KB 15:231) Note: Beardslee and Mitchell relate that E. H. Short found a nest with four eggs in “Reed’s Swamp, near Chili” in June 1924. (B&M, p. 304) However, Bull (1974) discounted this, saying the eggs could not be found for examination and “to my knowledge, no proved breeding exists in New York outside the Adirondack and Catskill districts.” (Bull, p. 371) Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 10 August to 11 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 25 August to 1 September. Subsequently, one on 27 July 1986 (Clarridge, F. Dobson) at Richmond, Ontario County, was a record early “first record for the fall migration.” (GOS, September 1986) Note: Not clear why another “first of fall,” one banded 2 August 2004 (R. and C. McKinney) at Manitou would be listed as record early. (GOS, October 2004) In most years had departed by 18 September, with a late departure date of 1 October (1949). Subsequently one banded on 3 October 1996 (Brooks) at Manitou set a new record late date (GOS, December 1996), until another on 5 October 1999 (Brooks) was banded there. (GNR)Less often reported in fall when empidonax flycatchers are silent and much harder to identify.

Acadian Flycatcher

Empidonax virescens
The warm, windy morning of 16 June 1979 was not the best for birding. Nonetheless, members of an RBA field trip to Bergen Swamp were privileged to witness a bit of history. “In a portion of the preserve where a shallow brook wandered through the cool shade of a mixed beech and hemlock woods,” field trip leader Glenn “Chip” Perrigo located a pair of small flycatchers which, fortunately, were calling frequently enough to be identified, John Brown reported. (BA, 20 June 1979) As the group watched quietly, the birds brought bits of cobwebs and formed the first outline of a nest in the fork of a small beech branch about 12 feet above the ground.  They were Acadian Flycatchers, suspected of nesting at Bergen since at least 1976, and now finally “caught in the act.” An explosive “peet-sa” call from the canopy overhead – or as Jay Greenberg once suggested, a “squeaky two-note call” that “reminds me of a rubber ducky being squeezed” (LG, July/August 2003) – signals the rare occurrence of this “most southern member” of the Empidonax tribe of flycatchers. It has been making a comeback in our region, indeed all across the state.
Background
This species is usually associated with water, nesting along streams in mature deciduous bottomland forests of the eastern United States, but also using conifers. Its current breeding range in New York was occupied in the early 1900s, but was vacated by the early 1970s. It has subsequently reoccupied all of its former range. A similar scenario is believed to have played out in southern New England. The reasons for the retraction of its range are not clear. However, the maturing of forests in reforested areas may have helped its more recent expansion. This species’ population appears relatively stable, however it is vulnerable to forest fragmentation, and its nesting success declines significantly when it is parasitized by cowbirds. (BNA 614: 1-3, 15, 17)
Local history
Bull (1974) described this as a formerly local breeder in New York state – primarily in two widely separated areas, downstate on Long Island and the lower Hudson River, and upstate in the Finger Lakes region and along the Lake Ontario plain. However, he noted, it had “greatly decreased” since 1900 to the extent that it had become a “rare migrant only” with no definite, successful breeding anywhere in the state for more than 45 years. “Reasons for its disappearance are apparently not known.” His list of former nesting sites included Chili (1900), “near Rochester (1909)” and Barre Center. (Bull, pp. 371-374)However, even Eaton (1914), who saw the 1909 nest at Woodlawn, considered the “Green-crested Flycatcher” to be “very irregular in occurrence” in western New York. He listed it as a rare summer resident in Monroe County, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston or Wayne. (Eaton II: 195, I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, reported only a single sighting– 11 August-2 September 1919 – and the species then dropped out of sight. It was not reported again in Monroe County until 23 May 1937 in Powder Mills Park. (WBR, 31 May 1937)So a report of five on 16 May 1948 (Hall) at Durand-Eastman Park definitely made the noteworthy list. (GOS, May/July 1948)When Leo Tanghe examined 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951-1954, this was the Empidonax flycatcher least often encountered, with only four reports within a 50-mile radius of Rochester, all last half of May. (KG 5: 69: 4A-4B)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, rare spring transient and a casual, very rare summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular uncommon local summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 6 to 29 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 16 to 24 May. The late departure date was 5 June.
Summer/breeding status: It is still the rarest empidonax flycatcher here, but it appears to be expanding north to reoccupy previous breeding areas, “apparently moving back into the state along the river valleys,” Stephen Eaton noted in his discussion of this species in The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. (Andrle, p. 250) “Its special habitat requirements are mature, dense woodlands with tall trees, closed canopy, and open spaces in the understory for feeding,” and it often associates with swiftly moving streams and rocky ravines.A single bird reported at Bergen Swamp on 17 June 1972 (Maley et al) was considered “most unusual.” (KB 22:169) Its “reappearance” as a nesting species was reported in 1976 after a pair was spotted at the swamp by Linehan et al. (KB 26: 214-215)On 7 July 1979, members of an RBA field trip observed “two naked nestlings, just hatched” at the nest started the previous month. However, 10 days later there were “no signs of either adult of juveniles at the nest site. Whether or not the young birds were successfully fledged is not known.” (LG, August 1979) The following year, the “Acadian stronghold in Bergen Swamp” was still thriving: Members of an RBA field trip “watched with fascination as the female of one pair meticulously dismantled a nearly complete nest while transferring twigs and grasses to building another nest, ostensibly unnecessary, only a dozen yards away.” (LG, August 1980)Nesting was “documented” at Honeoye Lake in 1977. (KB 27:218) The first BBA project also confirmed nesting at Durand-Eastman Park where two adults were observed feeding a young bird on 23 July 1983 (KB33: 267-268; GOS, September 1983), in a cluster of blocks at Letchworth SP, where it has been regular since 1983 (Fox, p. 63) and in two other blocks in Monroe and Ontario counties.During the second BBA project, nesting birds were found on the state reforestation area at Sonyea. (LG, November 2001) Much of the increased evidence of breeding during the second project was in Livingston County. The results suggest this species is now an established breeding species here, and may be gradually expanding the number of nesting locations.

Doug Bassett, park naturalist at Letchworth, said this species occurs primarily in ravines with hemlocks. Birders usually find it in the Dishmill Creek area of the park because it is easily accessed by trail, but it can be found at “multiple sites” in Letchworth, Bassett said. He estimates there are 15 to 20 breeding pairs in the park. (Bassett, “One Hundred Years of Natural History Changes in Letchworth State Park,” The Genesee Naturalist, Winter 2007, p. 8) Fox says this species is especially fond of habitat featuring “a rocky stream coursing through a canopied forest.” (Fox, p. 63) This species has also nested at Rattlesnake Hill WMA (Fox, p. 63) and at Harriet Hollister Spencer SRA. (KB40: 249)
Maxima: 6 on 19 May 1990 (mob) Letchworth SP. (GOS, July/August 1990; Fox, p. 63)

Alder Flycatcher

(formerly Traill’s Flycatcher)Empidonax alnorum
An RBA field trip to the Nations Road area in June 1998 concluded with a celebratory root beer at Tom Wahl’s. There were several reasons to celebrate, not the least of which was the opportunity to not merely see, but hear two virtually identical empidonax flycatchers well enough to tell them apart. The first was an obliging Alder Flycatcher that sat in the top of an ash, calling “ ‘frrrreee-BEER!’ (hey, that’s what it sounds like to me)” Martha DeHart reported. (LG, August 1998) A short time later a Willow Flycatcher sat in top of a hawthorn and “repeated his ‘fitz-bew’ over and over – everyone got a great comparison between Willow and Alder songs.” Birders seeking this species pray for it to sing. This summer resident, formerly lumped with Willow as Traill’s Flycatcher, was separated in 1973. Like others of the notoriously difficult Empidonax genus, it is much more easily identified by its song, rather than its plumage. Background
This is the more northerly, boreal of these two species, which were once considered one. Alder nests from Alaska across Canada into the northeastern U.S., and winters in South America. Across its breeding range it is found in fairly low densities, often in wet thickets. In regions where both Willow and Alder occur, “Alder Flycatchers segregate to higher elevations and wetter habitats,” but they have also been found breeding together at several sites. Generally places its nests lower than Willow. Expansion of Willow Flycatcher northward, apparently due to decrease of extensive forests, has sometimes caused displacement or retreat of Alder. Population in maritime provinces has been estimated at 310,000; extrapolated over entire range, that would translate to 11 million. (BNA 446: 1, 3-4, 10, 14)
Local history
Its history in New York is hard to track because many of the early writers failed to distinguish between the two song types of what was then known as Traill’s Flycatcher.
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common spring transient and a regular, uncommon summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 15 May (1982) to 31 May, with a late departure date of 26 June for transients. Subsequently, ones on 5 May 1999 (Fahey, R. and C. McKinney) at Mendon Ponds and Island Cottage were earlier. (GNR)
Summer/breeding status: Though it can at times be found breeding side by side with Willow, the Alder is “generally more common at high elevations where there are streams and lakes in wooded areas” (see Livingston County discussion in Willow below) where it nests in dense, low damp thickets next to streams, ponds and marshes, according to the discussion of this species in The Atlas of Breeding Birds of New York State. (Andrle, p. 252)“Flycatcher records include the observation that most of the Empidonax along the ridge between Honeoye and Canadice lakes were Alder, while most in the valleys at lake level (and near Rochester) were Willow,” Robert Spahn observed in 1977. (KB27: 218) Certainly there were marked differences between this species and Willow during the first Breeding Bird Atlas project of 1980-1985. Alder was found in fewer than half as many blocks as Willow and there was almost no evidence of breeding in blocks on the immediate lakefront where Willow was especially easy to confirm. However, that changed during the second project, when the number of blocks with evidence of breeding increased 50 percent. That included a noticeable increase of blocks along the immediate lakeshore from Rochester eastwards, and through much of eastern Wayne County. It remained unreported, however, in most of suburban Monroe County and western Wayne where Willow Flycatcher was easily found.

Summer maxima: 25 on 10 June 1978 (RBA trip) at Canadice Lake. (LG, July 1978)
Fall: Dominic Sherony had the good fortune to find one actually singing at either Hamlin or Beatty Point on 14 October 1990 for a record late date. (LG, November 1990; KB 41:34)

Willow Flycatcher

(formerly Traill’s Flycatcher)Empidonax traillii
One of the earliest risers around John Brown’s Scottsville home during the summer of 1955 helped greet each dawn with “ a song that is more sneeze than music.” “Fitzbew” or “witch-bew” was how Brown described it, and modern birders will automatically recognize the species as Willow Flycatcher.However, Brown and other birders at that time labeled the bird as a Midwestern population of the Alder or Traill’s flycatcher. And Brown devoted an entire column to whether these birds were indeed two distinct subspecies, or perhaps even two separate species. (BA, 21 July 1955) At least that is now resolved – the split into two species occurred in 1973 – and birders who despair at trying to separate by sight one Empidonax flycatcher from another breathe a sigh of relief when they hear this bird sing. There’s no doubting a Willow Flycatcher’s song.
Background
This common species nests in shrubby, often wet habitats from Maine to British Columbia and south to southern Arizona, wintering in similar habitats from southern Mexico to northern South America. This makes this the most widely distributed Empidonax species in North America. However, BBS data show this species declining overall, especially in the Southwest, where the river corridors it needs for breeding are altered or degraded by channelization, overgrazing, dam construction and urbanization. In the Northeast, East and Southeast it has expanded its range. New York was among six states where this species had increased significantly. Male Willows “always more dominant in cases of contact with Alders, and Alders can be displaced by the more aggressive willow Flycatcher,” notes James Sedgwick in his profile of this species for The Birds or North America series. (BNA 533: 1-3, 5, 15, 23)
Local history
“Originally, the Willow Flycatcher was considered the western subspecies of Traill’s flycatcher,” Bonney and Burrill note in The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. “It apparently overlapped little with the Alder Flycatcher. Recently, however, it has spread north and east and in some areas may be replacing the Alder Flycatcher.” (Andrle, p. 254)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 17 April to 28 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 9 to 20 May.The identification problems posed by nonsinging birds is illustrated by the dilemma facing the bird banders. Even with a Willow or Alder ‘in hand,” the bird must be entered as a generic “Traill’s.” Indeed, of the 30 most common species banded in spring at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, “Traill’s” ranked 10th with 987 birds taken from the nets.
Summer/breeding status: During the Breeding Bird Atlas projects, this species was found in significantly more blocks than the nearly identical Alder. It was found in more than two-thirds of the blocks, with a particularly heavy concentration of “confirmeds” along the lakeshore.

In Livingston County, Willow is more likely at lower elevations in the north, Alder in higher elevations to the south, Fox notes. (Fox, p. 63) Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 13 August to 2 October, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 1 to 13 September. The late departure date was tied when one was at Thousand Acre Swamp (Clarridge) in 1994. (GOS, December 1994)

Least Flycatcher

Empidonax minimus
From among a delightful jumble of songs and calls, one kept forcing its way to the forefront on a cool May morning in Badgerow Park. Chi-BEC, chi-BEC, chi-BEC.Never mind the Black-throated Blue Warbler and its occasional zaw-zaw-zaw-ZREEE. Chi-BECK, chi-BEC, chi-BEC the bird kept insisting.And concentrate as the birder might on a Black-and-white Warbler and its rusty SEE-bit, SEE-bit, SEE-bit, the other bird, hidden back near a row of spruces, kept intruding itself. Chi-BEC, chi-BEC, chi-BEC.Finally, the birder relented. Scanning the treetops he spotted the Least Flycatcher, flying out from time to time from the branches of a cottonwood, but mostly perching and singing. Incessantly. Chi-BEC, chi-BEC, chi-BEC.Indeed, this is “one of the smallest yet noisiest” members of the Empidonax clan, “persistently uttering a brisk, emphatic che-bec song in the breeding season,” Paul Connor notes. (Andrle, p. 256)
Background
These small songsters are very aggressive in driving other birds out of their territories, which may help explain why this species is only infrequently parasitized by cowbirds. They nest in small trees or shrubs in wooded areas, often near clearings or edges, across much of Canada and the northern U.S. and south along the Appalachians. They also defend territories on their wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. They are found in more densely vegetated habitats than Eastern Wood-Pewees, but in less densely vegetated forests than those favored by Acadian Flycatchers. The Adirondacks have one of the highest densities of breeding populations, according to BBS data. That same data shows this species has declined as much as 34.9 percent east of the Mississippi since 1966, but remained stable or increased in central and western parts of its range. (BNA 99: 1, 4, 8, 16)
Local history
Eaton (1910) considered this a common summer resident in Monroe County, fairly common in Wayne and also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of eight, on dates ranging from 3 May to 6 September.However, when Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this was the least frequently encountered of our resident summer flycatchers, showing up only 23 of 259 June-August lists within a 50-mile radius of Rochester. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4B)Moreover, in his 1953 listing of breeding birds in the Rochester area, Tanghe considered this a rare nester, listing only the Burroughs Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary near Bushnell’s Basin as a breeding location. (GOS, May/August 1953)Evidently this species has since rebounded. 
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon to fairly common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common to common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 27 April to 27 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 5 to 11 May. One on 21 April 1990 (Griffith) at Braddock Bay set a new record early date. (GOS, June 1990) Of the 30 most common species banded in spring at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 12th with 745 birds taken from the nets.
Spring maxima: 30+ on 10 May 2005 west lakeshore. (KB 55:272) 15 on 14 May 1983 (R. Spahn) west lakeshore. (GOS, September 1983) 25 on 20 May 1984 (mob) various locations. (GOS, July/August 1984) 20 banded on 24 May 1997 (McKinney) at Manitou. (GOS, July/August 1997)
Summer/breeding status: This species nests in a variety of semi-open areas, including shade trees along roadsides and about farms, in orchards, parks and woodland borders. (Bull, p. 377, Andrle, p. 256) Evidence of breeding was found throughout our region during both BBA projects. However, this species may be declining in suburban Monroe County, where there was a marked increase in blocks with no evidence of breeding, or only possible breeding, during the second project.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 24 August to 29 September, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 5 to 17 September.Subsequently, one 9 October 2000 at Manitou was listed as record late (KB51: 518) as was one banded there by BBBO on the same date five years later. (KB 56:69)Note, however, that one was reported banded even later, on 15 October 1996 (McKinney), at Manitou. (GNR)Of the 30 most common species banded in fall at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 25th with 196 birds taken from the nets.
Misc.
A calm mid-May evening in 1985 offered an interesting contrast in feeding styles as Frank Dobson watched the birds in his Greece backyard. A yellow warbler, for example, “busied itself in the dogwoods, gobbling insects left and right, never pausing for more than a second or two in any one spot. . . .“Using a completely different routine was a little least flycatcher. It would just sit quietly for a few moments on the tip of some outer branch, then sally forth after a flying insect, snare it quickly and settle down again to watch for another prospect.” (Birds, 26 May 1985)

Eastern Phoebe

Sayornis phoebe
The Genesee River gorge, as it winds through densely populated residential neighborhoods, past factories and commercial strips and even the bridges and towering buildings of downtown Rochester, provides a haven for a variety of nesting birds. Eastern Phoebe is among them. In late June and early July of 2003, this birder could often hear them calling as he worked the area around Maplewood Park for the second Breeding Bird Atlas project. Confirmation of nesting came when an adult was observed feeding three recently fledged young, perched on branches at the base of a stone wall in Lower Falls Park, while traffic rumbled over the Driving Park Bridge and water thundered over the Lower Falls nearby. Even in more rural settings this flycatcher does not hesitate to take advantage of man-made structures for nesting. That same observer confirmed this species for another block by peering under a culvert on the Lake Ontario State Parkway, and finding a bird on a nest. One Conesus resident related how phoebes chose to build a nest under his front porch awning one spring. All went well until he tried to start his outdoor cooking grill on the porch. Smoke billowed up under the awning, and out tumbled young phoebes!
Background
This common flycatcher adapts as readily to human habitation as the wilderness in choosing its protected nest sites, Eaton (1914) observed, and “like all flycatchers, the Phoebe chooses a conspicuous lookout from which it darts upon any passing insect and returns to its chosen perch, always pumping its tail decidedly as soon as it alights, and frequently while seated.” (Eaton II: 187-188)This species’ fondness for nesting under bridges probably helped it expand its range into the Great Plains and southeastern U.S., where rapid range expansion is still occurring. Unlike the Barn Swallow, has not completely forsaken rock outcrops and other natural niches for nesting. Breeding across central and southern Canada, and most of the eastern U.S., these birds often return to the same nest sites year after year. Frequently parasitized by cowbirds; in most parasitized nests only the cowbird egg hatches. Populations appear relatively stable. However, severe winters, like the one in 1976-77 in the southeast U.S., where many phoebes winter, caused a significant drop in the breeding population for several years thereafter. (BNA 94: 1-2, 12, 15)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed it as an abundant summer resident in Monroe County, and common in Livingston and Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of 20, on dates ranging from 17 March (1931) to 25 October. When Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951-1954, this was “middle of the pack” in terms of frequency of summer sightings – 83 – less than half the number for Eastern Kingbird and Wood Pewee. (KB 5: 69: 4A-4BIn 1953, he listed is as a common breeder in the Rochester area, specifically listing the Burroughs-Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and Island Cottage as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common summer resident and a casual, very rare winter visitant (two records: 7 February 1978 and 25 December 1978). Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this an occasional rare winter visitant and a regular common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 17 March (1980) to 14 April, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 26 March to 3 April. However, one on 18 February 1980 (M. McKinney, Doris) at Seneca Park was earlier. (KB 30: 108) Also early, one on 27 February 2000 (D. Tetlow, Niven) at Manitou was reported record early in the Little Gull but not in the Goshawk. (LG May 2000, GNR) It is one of the first summer residents to arrive in spring, usually showing up as single scattered birds. So hardy, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether early birds are true migrants or individuals that overwintered.
Spring maxima: 16 on 30 March 1988 Braddock Bay. (KB 38: 196) 50+ on 4 April 1956 at Braddock Bay during a huge influx of migrating birds. (BA, 12 April 1956) 72 on 8 April 2007 (D. Tetlow) Parma to Carlton. (LG, June 2007)
Summer/breeding status: This is one of our most widespread flycatchers. Evidence of breeding was found throughout the region during both BBA projects.

“It has become increasingly dependent upon humans for nest sites, such as open porches, bridges, open barns, and outhouses, “ Stephen Eaton noted in his discussion of this species in The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, “but nests can occasionally still be found on sheltered cliffs.” (Andrle, p. 258) It especially favors nesting sites near streams and ponds that provide mud for nests and insects for prey.
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 18 September to 19 November (1983), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 5 to 20 October. Subsequently, one to two on 18-24 November 1995 (G. Chapin) at Durand Eastman lingered even later (GOS, January 1996), as did one on 25 November 1999 (R. Spahn) at the south end of Irondequoit Bay. (GNR) Also, note occasional winter records below. One of the last flycatchers to leave in fall. Of the 30 most common species banded in fall at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this tied for 30th with Blue-headed Vireo, with 130 birds taken from the nets.
Maxima: 10 on 15 October 1988 (Oswald) Beatty Point. (GOS, December 1988)
Winter: This tail-wagging flycatcher can shift to eating berries during cold snaps. Late stragglers have lingered into December – and beyond. One at Webster 7 February 1978 (Zachmann) may have been swept in from the coast with a massive storm on that date (KB28: 106), and was surviving by feeding on pyracanthas berries. Others were at Conesus Lake (Davids, D. Tetlow) on 1 January 1996 (LG, February 1996) and again 6 January 2006, the same year another was at Savannah on 2 January. (LG March 2006) Another 13 January 2002 (D. Tetlow, Davids) was at Pultneyville. (LG, March 2002) February records include: one on 19 February 1980 (McKeon) at Seneca Park (LG, March 1980), and one on 23 February 1953 (Listman, Schaeffer) at Geneseo. (GOS, March/April 1953)

Say’s Phoebe

Sayornis saya
The bird seemed “completely alien,” Walt Listman later wrote in the Goshawk. He first saw it from behind, as it flew briefly above a small ridge at the Flynn Road dumps in Greece at about 3 p.m. on 13 December 1959. “It suggested a Robin or Horned Lark, sort of grayish, but with a dark tail.” He and Warren Lloyd headed in the direction the bird had flown, hoping for a second look. When they arrived at the dumping operations, the bird flew up about 100 feet away  and “lit on a small branch of some brush. Mostly it faced away from us . . .”Despite the bright sun against them, the two birders could see rusty underparts, and a darker gray “mask” on the head. After half a minute, the bird again flew – “somewhat Phoebe-like” – 200 to 300 feet to the edge of a wood. This time the birders maneuvered so the sun was behind them. The bird was perched in a small tree at the border of the woods. “The bird was right out in the open and we could hardly have had a better look at it,” Listman related.“It got up as if it had made a pass at an insect. After it landed again, it performed a typical Phoebe tail-wagging. It had made a few wags previously, but not as pronounced as these,” Listman added. (GOS, March-July 1960)It was a Say’s Phoebe.
Background
This is a bird of open tundra, prairie, and barren foothills in the western U.S. and Canada, where its “drab gray brown back, black tail and cinnamon-colored belly fade into the sage brush plains, barren foothills, and rimrock country where this species resides.” The “frequently observed Tail Wag . . . an intermittent depression and fanning of the tail while perched, coupled with fly-catching behavior, are distinctive.” Moreover, its favored niche for foraging is on or close to the ground where temperatures remain warmer, enabling it to survive cold conditions in early spring or, as in this case, early winter. (BNA, 374: 1, 2, 6)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a casual, very rare visitant.
Occurrence One 13, 19 December 1959 (Listman) Greece. Listman again observed the bird for 10 minutes from as close as 30 feet on 19 December. Like many other flycatcher species, Say’s Phoebe is known to wander. There have been more than a dozen records in New York State, but this was the only one ever reported in our region. (GOS, March-July 1960; Levine, p.369) As in New York, all of the 35 occurrences in adjoining states as of 1996 were between early September and January.

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