KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER

Olive-Sided Flycatcher - Photo courtesy Dave Reed
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THIS WEEK'S FIELD TRIP (2016) IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE IN HANCOCK COUNTY AND WILL BE FOCUSING ON A SEARCH FOR THE OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. JOIN THE MISSISSIPPI COAST AUDUBON SOCIETY MEMBERS ON SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST, 2016 AT 8AM (morning only) AT THE STENNIS WELCOME CENTER. Bring along drinks and snacks.

Each year about this time, those of us who take a serious approach to field birding conduct a search for the wonderful and exciting Olive-sided Flycatcher, which is a real rarity here in the coastal counties. There are years when it is not seen at all, and a "good" year might include one or two fall sightings. No spring observations are on record.

According to past records, the Olive-sided has been seen here between Aug 19 and Oct 21. In Louisiana, the time period is between July 31 and Oct 20. In Alabama the time period in that coastal area as Aug 6 to the second week in November.

But the optimum month for looking is in September. Birders who want to see an Olive-sided Flycatcher arm themselves with the sort of information given above. They begin to look several days in advance of the earliest known date. They search a little harder during the optimum periods of time (when most Olive-sideds have been seen in the coastal areas of our state, as well as our neighboring states), and they don't stop looking until all reasonable chances to see one have passed. That is step No. 1 - knowing WHEN to look.

Step No. 2 is knowing WHERE to look. The Olive-sided Flycatcher is so totally associated with high and conspicuous dead branches that to look anywhere else (such as in the mid-section of a deciduous tree) is really an exercise in futility. We get in the habit of looking twice at any flycatcher that perches high in a branch that affords a broad overview of the surrounding area. Here on the coast, we have found that the ideal places for a migrating Olive-sided include cutover areas with snag trees, or even at the edge of a deciduous woodland. The lofty, snaggy outpost at the top of the dead tree is the key.

Knowing when and where to look is two thirds of the battle. Step No. 3 is knowing WHAT to look for. That is really not difficult. In the flycatcher family in this area, the only species that might be confused with the Olive-sided are the Eastern Wood-Pewee, and the Eastern Kingbird because they both occupy similar perches, and their posture and general coloration are similar.

This is where differences - those wonderful differences that help us to separate one bird from another - enter into it. Look at an Olive-sided Flycatcher and an Eastern Wood-Pewee in a field guide. That the Olive-sided is the larger bird is quite obvious. It is big-headed and short-tailed, and is a laggard in the looks and grace department, whereas the pewee has a more attenuated look. Look at the plumage. Note that the Olive-sided has what appears to be a cutaway vest of darkness, contrasting with a white "shirt". The pewee, underneath, is lighter overall, and shows no typical vest pattern. Neither the Eastern Kingbird, nor the Eastern Wood-Pewee appears as "glued" to the perch as the Olive-sided.  Field guides enumerate the other differences. You should learn them all.

Field guides (and everyone who has ever heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher) stress its distinctive song, which has been variously translated as "Quick three beers" or "hic, three beers", but unfortunately this bird is not vocalizing when  it migrates through our area.

If you wonder how some birders manage to see rarities like the Olive-sided Flycatcher with something approaching regularity, the reason is simple. They employ birding logic - knowing when and where to look and what to look for. It's fundamental to good birding.

This article was published in August 1989