Chirps and Cheeps

An Olive-sided Flycatcher was spotted at Amherst State Park this afternoon. Doug and I decided to try for it after we each finished up our work day.

Going through the park on this gray, late afternoon / early evening, we found very little activity. We ran into Sal, Peter Yoerg, and 2 birders I had never met before, Holly and Bernie.  Their group reported having seen 17 warblers species! We parted ways, agreeing to call each other if we should happen to find the flycatcher.

After seeing or hearing hardly any birds at all, other than just 1 warbler, an Ovenbird, and a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, we finally saw what might be a potential flycatcher. Doug studied it from every angle very carefully - a starling!  Aarrgghhh!  Soon after that, we came up to the wooden bridge after having circled the entire park.  As we walked up to the top, I saw a bird on top of a dead tree and asked Doug if that was his starling.  He studied it with his binoculars and calmly said, "no, that's an Olive-sided Flycatcher".  I thought he was joking, but when he told me to get my camera on it and start taking pictures, it began to sink in that we had our bird!  I called Sal and he and his gang quickly joined us and we all got somewhat satisfying views of the celebrity.

The lighting was horrible but I have a couple of photos I thought I'd share - the best of many. It's a good thing I decided to turn on the flash for these couple as they were really the only ones that turned out halfway recognizable.

Lesson for the day:  always study the bird in your binoculars before making an assumption!