Just Passing Through: Olive-sided Flycatchers and Spring Migration

Is there a better time to be a birder than spring migration?  I think there is not!

Spring migration is in full swing here in California's Great Central Valley, but it won't last for much longer!  Much like our brief window of pleasant spring temperatures, this period of migration will be over before you know it.  Now is the time to get out to local patches of habitat - especially shady riparian habitat - to see what goodies turn up on the wind and wing.  

Take a minute to read about the vital role the Central Valley plays in spring migration and learn more about bird migration in general.

This morning, while birding along the Tuolumne River in Waterford, I spotted a Western Wood-pewee perched on a snag over the trail.  I had been hoping to find an Olive-sided Flycatcher, so while I watched the wood-pewee, I described to Eric the differences between these two closely related Contopus flycatchers: the Olive-sided is bigger, with a heavier-looking bill and shorter tail, a more contrasting "open vest" pattern on its chest (created by dark mottled sides and a pale stripe down the center), and white tufts above the wings that may be visible on perched birds.  I had just finished rattling off what every good field guide will tell you, when my attention was caught by another bird perched on a nearby snag (the favored perch of flycatchers).  

And there, in my binoculars, was a bird that matched my description point for point, right down to the white tufts above the wings!  

Olive-sided Flycatchers pass through the Central Valley during migration, and seem to be most commonly seen during the month of May.  By the time summer arrives, these guys will be up in the coniferous forests of the Sierra Nevada, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and beyond, all the way north to Alaska and east across Canada to Maine.