Early this morning, I did my usual...take the mug of coffee to the Small Gardens, feed the birds and then sit and enjoy their company. Heavy cloud cover kept the darkness lingering a bit longer than normal. As I watched the "feeder crew", I could hear a bird calling in the treetops. It had a single, clear call that rang through the stillness of the morn. Ahh, this friend would not be visiting the feeders and, if I wanted to see it, my sights would have to be lifted. A Great Crested Flycatcher was somewhere above!
I scanned the grayness and soon found the bird. In the top of a tall, water oak, my friend sat precariously on a twig. The bird continued its calling for a good ten minutes. Then, suddenly, it did what appeared to almost be a "backflip" off the branch and swooped down through the clearing. It was off to catch breakfast! After just a few moments, the bird was back. It did this several times while I watched.
The Great Crested Flycatcher is a patient bird that sits and waits on a treetop perch. When it spies an insect, it swoops down after it only to immediately return to the high limb. It prefers this method of hunting over the scratch and peck like other birds. The bird was doing a quite nice job of entertaining me while I sipped my coffee. Its acrobatic stunts were pretty impressive! Then, both the bird and I decided it was time for other things. It flew to the back of the property and I headed to the vegetable garden to plant cucumbers and radishes.
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