I saw that Willow Flycatcher had been sighted recently in my county, but I decided to instead try once more for Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (and it would be cool to see the Yellow-breasted Chat again, too). When I was approaching the last bit of trail heading toward the car, the Merlin Sound ID feature identified a Willow Flycatcher sound. I waited there for a few minutes and didn't hear it again, so I figured the bird may have been nearby on a neighboring trail I hadn't taken yet in my previous two visits to this location. As I started walking that trail, Merlin heard the bird again. I was getting closer! I used the app to play the Willow Flycatcher song (just quietly, to myself) so I would recognize it. Luckily the bird was singing and moving around, and I found it relatively easily after a short hunt just a few hundred feet down that next trail. I was able to snap a few photos and followed the bird around for a while. It never gave me a terrific photo opportunity but it was fun to hunt the lifer down! This flycatcher didn't look different from the other species I've seen recently, but that's the hallmark of flycatchers: the song is how they're best idenfitied. I am now 3-for-3 in my visits to this location for seeing new lifers!

These photos are © 2023 Phil Thompson, all rights reserved.

My "birds in review" collages can be found here.