The Ash-Throated Flycatcher Nest

One of our favorite birds has always been the ash-throated flycatcher.  Twenty-five years ago we had a guy working here who had done his master’s on this bird species.  During the five or so years was at Tree of Life, he kept his research going by building and monitoring nesting boxes, particularly fitted to the ash-throated.  We never knew these birds to be particularly “social”… more like “secretive.”  The boxes are long gone.

Since we were first introduced to this beautiful bird, we have kept our eye peeled every summer.  They naturally nest in tree cavities, and our big sycamores are riddled holes of all sizes.  Apparently, their criteria for a nest… size, shape, depth, height, etc., are very exacting.  Often, the nesting cavities are forty feet in the air, which doesn’t afford a lot of interaction.  A sighting has always been a special occurrence.

This year, a pair decided to become our social friends.  They built a nest in an old clay water pot on our patio.  It hangs at eye level, just outside our office window, so we have observed the whole process from the start and we now watch the mom come and go as she rears her young.  Four eggs hatched into four hungry mouths.

The birds are year-round residents in Baja and sunny Mexico and migrate north into the western U.S. in the summer.  Tree of Life Nursery is located near the southern edge of their summer range, very close to the area where they can be found year-round.

We wish them well, these ash-throated flycatchers, and thank the mom (or dad, for it is both sexes that tend the young) for being such a good sport with the camera.