Thursday, September 22, 2011

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher


I've been fortunate enough to see and hear about ten of these little fellas in my few years of birding experience.  I've seen them in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah.  These are a pretty tiny birds, similar in size to a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and flit about the mid-sized bushes near water stirring up bugs to eat with flicks of their tail.  They are very responsive to pishing and will make a close approach to investigate.


While reading up on this cute little gnatcatcher, I noticed that most all the drawings and photos showed a dark bill, not the yellowish bill with dark tip as seen in my photos.  The Stokes Field Guide and Crossley do show the winter plumage bird and it does have that lighter colored bill.  It looks pretty gray most of the year, but I did once see this bird with a blue hue at the Juniper Rest Area right near the Idaho-Utah border.



Animated map of eBird sightings showing annual migration pattern.

7 comments:

  1. Great captures of this busy little bird! I love watching them feed. Surprisingly, I have not seen any this year. I hope to soon!

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  2. Robert, I have seen this species in FL and AZ but have yet to see it here in MA. What spunky little cuties they are!

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  3. Hi Robert...I have not seen this bird before , but living in central Maine I don't suppose I will ...it reminds me of the Catbird with I do have every year to nest near by!!
    Very nice the image!

    Grace

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  4. What a beautiful shot...I haven't seen this species yet. Thanks.

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  5. I just love these little guys! I used to see them a lot during the summer up in Illinois. I saw some tiny birds high up in the canopy the other day here in central Florida and it took me a minute to get my bins on them. I was so happy to see they were Blue-gray Gnatcatchers! I'm still getting used to the birds here and it looks like I have the chance to see them all year according to that range map. :) Nice pictures, Robert.

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  6. Great photos of an interesting little bird. I especially like the first photo against the blue sky.

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  7. Nice shot, Robert. This would be a great yard bird addition for me...send it over!

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