![\"willow](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/willow-flycatcher-2494-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis unusual visitor to my yard nearly caused me to be late publishing my blog post two mornings ago. My evening schedule is usually pretty inflexible\u00a0– typically I sit down at my computer at 5 pm and spend the next several hours deciding the subject of the next morning’s post, working up images for that post and beginning to compose it.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0this flycatcher disrupted my schedule.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Right at 5 pm I looked out my kitchen window and spotted\u00a0the flycatcher hawking insects in my back yard. It was using this bent piece of\u00a0rusty rebar to launch from and it nearly always returned to it prior to its next flight. It was close to my patio door so I quickly grabbed my gear and fired off quite a few shots through the dirty glass but for obvious reasons those images were soft so I took the chance that I’d scare the bird off and opened the door. The flycatcher stuck.<\/p>\n I’m not particularly\u00a0fond of the perch so I spent most of my time trying to photograph the bird in flight\u00a0just prior to landing. Those are tough shots to get and I struck out in that regard but flycatchers aren’t an everyday subject for me so I decided to post a few shots of it anyway, unattractive perch or not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Part of the reason I chose to go with it is because I’d like a little help with the ID. Empidonax flycatchers are notoriously difficult to identify even for experts and I’m far from an authority on them.\u00a0There’s been some speculation that it\u00a0could be a Willow Flycatcher but I have no confidence in that tentative ID so if anyone has any thoughts on the subject I’d appreciate hearing them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The flycatcher\u00a0was a ferocious and highly successful hunter. Most of its insect forays were successful and at least twice its victims were house flies which elevates this little bird to hero status in my book. This image is a huge crop and the\u00a0prey is about the only thing in the photo that’s sharp but I hate house flies so much I enjoy seeing this one with its legs sticking up\u00a0in its death throes.\u00a0House flies are so sticky and annoying this time of year that this image gives me some sadistic satisfaction.<\/p>\n Anyway, I spent enough time with this bird instead of working on my Turkey Vulture post of two days ago that the post almost didn’t get published. The pressure was worth it though, especially for a bird that I seldom get to photograph and one who is responsible for the demise of so many of those damned\u00a0flies.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Note: In case it may be helpful for ID purposes I photographed this bird in the suburbs of Salt Lake City but there’s riparian habitat (the Jordan River) nearby.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This unusual visitor to my yard nearly caused me to be late publishing my blog post two mornings ago.<\/p>\n![\"willow](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/willow-flycatcher-2433-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"willow](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/willow-flycatcher-2612-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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