HomeBack The Howland Picture Pages: Alder Flycatcher

Page by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2004/01/28 04:46:21 $ (UTC)

The Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) is one of the family of tricky, hard-to-identify Tyrant Flycatchers specifically in the genus Empidonax. We have Alder Flycatchers through-out Alberta except as you get a bit closer to the U.S. border, and they are found in a wide band across the northern extent of North America during the summer. In typical Flycatcher mode, this bird flies out from open perches (often favorite ones to which it returns) to grab insects from mid-air.

Resources where you can find out more:

Did I say Flycatchers are tricky to identify? Well, I'm not confident that the bird pictured here actually is an Alder Flycatcher! However after scratching my head for a long time with Sibley, Peterson, my Thayer birding software and other field guides, I'm no closer to figuring out which it is, so I'm going with Alder. As the profile at weaselhead.org says, when advising becoming familiar with Flycatcher vocalizations, "Those who attempt to base their flycatcher identifications on visual clues only will soon be frustrated and confused." Too bad I couldn't record this one with audio as well as image...

At any rate, on a day trip to Bow Valley Provincial Park on July 26, 2003, we stopped in a somewhat marshy area to see what we might see. Almost immediately this Alder Flycatcher (if that's what it is!) appeared, plopping down onto a dead branch just above the surface of the water. The bird had a lot of fun splashing in the water, then hopping back up onto the twig to preen. Occasionally it would pop up to a higher branch nearby to grab a quick snack, but then would come back to this perch.

EXIF 2.2 photo info:

 

  • 320 x 438 true color
  • Exposure time: 1/173.90
  • F-stop: 4.2
  • ISO speed: 100
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure mode: Auto
  • White balance: Auto
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Center Weighted
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Gain control: None
  • Contrast: Normal
  • Saturation: High
  • Sharpness: Hard
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

Here the Alder Flycatcher shown above has flown up to a higher branch to scope out some fast food.

EXIF 2.2 photo info:

 

  • 320 x 437 true color
  • Exposure time: 1/226.40
  • F-stop: 5.3
  • ISO speed: 140
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure mode: Auto
  • White balance: Auto
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Center Weighted
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Gain control: None
  • Contrast: Normal
  • Saturation: High
  • Sharpness: Hard
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

The higher perch just wouldn't do, and the Alder Flycatcher returned to the lower one. After a quick splash, it was time to do some serious preening. Either that, or this bird is a big fan of Bela Lugosi.

EXIF 2.2 photo info:

 

  • 320 x 480 true color
  • Exposure time: 1/264.20
  • F-stop: 4.7
  • ISO speed: 140
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure mode: Auto
  • White balance: Auto
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Center Weighted
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Gain control: None
  • Contrast: Normal
  • Saturation: High
  • Sharpness: Hard
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

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