Vermilion Flycatcher

This is an Eastern Phoebe. They are the common phoebe here nesting under your eaves if you are lucky. They are resident, present year round, though in winter the local birds are invaded by wintering individuals from northward fleeing cold.

These are a couple Eastern Phoebe fledglings just before
they left the nest later this same day, April 20, 2020.

Eastern Phoebe can show some yellowish tint below in fresh fall or winter plumage.

This is a Black Phoebe. They are jet black above and snow white below with a sharp line of demarcation across the breast. The whole head and breast are all solid jet black, belly snow white. Not muddy like Eastern Phoebe. Several pairs were breeding locally 2003-2008, but when the big drought of 2008 set in they departed. There was a pair at the park pond spillway or 1050 bridge in town, a pair nested at Lost Maples, pairs at Concan and Garner, etc. We are just east of their range, they increase westward. This pic was on the Nueces River. I have only seen one locally in ten years now.

This is Say's Phoebe. Usually on a fenceline at edge of pasture, present only in winter (late fall to early spring). Note no streaking on underparts as female or imm. Vermilion Flycatcher, though Say's is mostly here when those are not.

This is the most common Myiarchus here, Ash-throated Flycatcher. They are widespread breeders throughout the area. Yellow on belly is very light and pale. Gray on breast is very light and pale, usually uneven, fading to ash-colored throat.

Great Crested Flycatcher showing the diagnostic pinkish-orange mouth-lining. Nice rictal bristles. The better to funnel those bugs right into that maw. These are very (kingbird) bright saturated yellow below with a sharp line of demarcation on breast to evenly medium gray upper breast to throat.

Great Crested Flycatcher showing the olive green back, which goes all the way to rump. Our other two Myiarchus, the Brown-crested and Ash-throated, both have brown backs.

Western Kingbird is the most common Kingbird here, though recently has been scarce in drought times with no flying bugs. Has nested locally, last few years only migrants seen. This one is in winter when accidental in Texas, in Sabinal, Jan. 27, 2019. The snow white outer webs on the outer tail feathers are diagnostic and usually obvious. Note yellow belly stops at lower breast, which is pale gray, as is back.

Eastern Kingbird is black, gray and white, and pretty sharp despite its lack of color. Bright snow white tail tip is unique. They are scarce but regular here for a week or two in May on a fenceline if you get lucky. In fall they are less than annual but possible.

This one is in fall. You can see some old browner worn feathers (tertials) and some new fresh clean gray ones with crisp white edges, so an adult.

Eastern Kingbird has a diagnostic neat crisp snow white tail-tip.

This is a Couch's Kingbird. Note yellow extends high up breast to olive green on breast. Back is olive green as well. Often appears masked. Tail is notched (center). These nest commonly down in the brush country, especially near water as around Uvalde wet spots. They nested at very SW corner of Utopia in 2006. They have wintered here a few years as well, at park. Can occur in spring and fall rarely too. I would call it scarce and LTA - less than annual, but can occur any month. A pair was south of town for 6+ weeks in summer of 2022.

This is a docushot of a Couch's feeding one of 3 young fledged in Utopia on June 5, 2006. One of the further north known nestings and maybe the first ever for the species up on the Edwards Plateau - in the hill country.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, male. Usually a common breeder, but can be scarce in drought times. Absent in winter from about Oct. 20 or so until March 20 or so. Male tail longer than female, and has more orange on underparts. Note tail feathers in crossed scissor-position. I presume holding them crossed keeps them from blowing about as easily in the wind.

The black on the back is an artifact, caused by shade from the wing being held up and away from body (was hot), and a very low sun angle.

This is an adult and a juvenile, which are yellow underneath with a shorter tail. Though adults molt their tails in late summer, so there are kingbird appearing short-tailed adults around in late summer (August).

The adult female has a much shorter tail than the male, and less orange color below.

This is a fresh adult male at maximum orange, and just starting to grow its tail back in after molting it. Late July to mid-August (here), short-tailed models are out there that can look sorta like Kingbirds.

Here is a rear view of a fresh male Oct. 14, 2017. This is right before they depart for the season. Note black rump and uppertail coverts. The dark vs. light contrast really breaks the bird up well.

Vermilion Flycatcher, male. Females are paler brown above, with streaks on whitish breast and pale salmon belly and rearward.

They arrive in early March, and depart in September. This male wintered by the pond on the golf course adjacent to the Waresville Cemetery. Another local had a winter bird once as well, but they are accidental then.

This is a juvenile Vermilion Flycatcher. At first they are streaked on breast and a yellowish-salmon rearward below. Adult female similar but salmon colored rearward below. Note the streaked breast.

This is the wintering bird Jan. 26, 2020.

This is an Eastern Wood-Pewee feeding young at Utopia Park. They only rarely nest there, but often seem to want to try. They need areas of big leafy deciduous trees to nest in. That is a Swift Setwing dragonfly that wasn't swift enough.

This is a juvenile Eastern Wood-Pewee as indicated by crisp broad buffy wing bars. Grayish olive above, fairly dull and dingy looking overall.

Olive-sided Flycatcher has an 'open vest' look with very dark sides of the underparts and white running up the center. They also can show two white patches or tufts on lower back area from behind. It is a bigger more robust bird than the Wood-Pewee are. Often sits on the highest open snag sallying back and forth for bugs.

A generic Empidonax flycatcher. A quiz bird as I did not ID this one, so can't tell you what it was. It was Sept. 17 at Utopia Park. It popped out, I looked at it, decided to grabshot, the end. Never to be seen again, or heard. Isn't this fun? The pale underparts without much for a breast band suggest possibly an Acadian.

Acadian Flycatcher, the only locally nesting Empidonax Flyctcher,

Acadian Flycatcher appears less breast-banded than most other Empidonax, often appearing very pale of underparts.

This is a Least Flycatcher that was pigging out on termites as they emerged after a rain, occasionally foraging from ground. I had no idea you could fit that many termites in one of these. The most common migrant Empidonax here in spring and fall by factors.

This is a bad pic of a good bird, so which is allowable. It was a long-distance accidently high ISO docushot grab. Canon autofocus grabbed the background on 9 of 10 shots. Miracle there is this one bad one. This is the Cordilleran Flycatcher at Utopia Park Oct. 14. It does not show how green above and yellowish below the bird was. Note the big white teardrop shape behind the eye typical of the two 'Western' Flycatcher complex species. Luckily it was giving diagnostic calls so I knew it was a Cordilleran Flycatcher I was looking for before I saw it.

This is an Alder Flycatcher. Sorry about the grainy and over-exposed, settings were for in the dark woods. It was much greener and yellower than these pics show. Fortunately it was in a calling mood unlike most that pass through. It makes a good generic Empidonax pic. Oliveish above, some yellowish below, usually a messy breastband of olive, two wingbars and an eyering. Ya seen one you seen 'em all, just hope they call.

Hammond's Flycatcher north of Utopia in Bandera Co., Dec. 25. 2005 Probably the first wintering documented on Edwards Plateau, and was the first Bandera Co. record. Note compact size and shape, gray head and throat contrast with green back, very short bill, long primary extension, etc.

Same Hammond's Flycatcher - Note yellow in lower belly, narrowness of bill, and broken eyering above with slight teardrop effect behind. Several years later I recorded one calling that spent two months of winter at Utopia Park. A few years ago one was found wintering at Lost Maples, so 3 local area records now, all in winter.

This is much of a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. These are slightly less than annual, you can easily miss them any given passage. Rare in late spring and fall. This and the two 'Western Flycatcher' types are the two most green above and yellow below types. The two 'Western Flycatcher' types are accidental vagrants out of range here (only Cordilleran recorded here).

Great Kiskadee at Utopia Park Feb. 3, 2018. They breed at Ft. Inge, Cook's Slough, and the City Park on Hwy. 90 in Uvalde, all often have them. A few sight reports around Utopia, this one at the park in winter. Have a May record in the yard. It is a stunning beauty, and loud if they call, you can hear them from a half-mile or more.

THE END


See ya!