Trips

Fork-tailed Flycatcher in Connecticut

November 19, 2010 by Corey 28 Comments

Until today I had never seen a Fork-tailed Flycatcher.  It seems somehow fitting that a mere week after returning from my first visit to South America that a South American species of flycatcher should cross my field of view in the northeastern United States, because, well, that seems to be how things work.  Tyrannus savana is one heck of a species of flycatcher to see, and when Seth let me know that he and Shane would be chasing the one in Stamford, Connecticut, today I jumped at the chance. After all, it is not every day that a life bird, especially one as cool as a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, is there for the taking.

Cove Island Park is a quick shot up I-95 from New York City, and we were there almost before we realized we had left New York City.  En route we had already received word that the bird had been seen for the third consecutive day and none of us could wait to get our lifer.  Fortunately, the flycatcher was hanging out only about thirty seconds from the parking lot and there were plenty of birders with scopes and cameras showing the way.  What a bird!

It was also pretty amusing that the flycatcher wasn’t even the only bird from South America frequenting the park.  A flock of Monk Parakeets gave themselves away with their raucous squawking were generally entertaining.  Everyone’s optics, however, remained on the Fork-tailed Flycatcher.  And can you blame them?

What a great way to start a day’s birding and what a great bird to see at all!  It didn’t hurt that it moved my ABA list up to 447 either, putting me, I believe, two ahead of Mike.

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.