The Great Crested Flycatcher

The standard sources for wild bird information describe the Great Crested Flycatcher as a common species. During the breeding season, you can find them in much of the USA. Yet, their lifestyle can make them a challenge to spot. These larger flycatchers live in the canopy of deciduous forests where they use cavities (often created by woodpeckers) in which to raise their brood. They also hunt near the tops of the trees more than near the ground.

That said, the first Great Crested Flycatcher I observed was in a scrubby bit of open land at the edge of what was once our backyard at “the old house.” The handsome bird was perched on a stiff straw of the previous year’s, sedge brown grass. I suppose it was hunting for bugs that populate that space. That was in 2020. The next year I spotted a pair flitting near our Duck Box, which is mounted about eight feet off the ground at our pond’s edge. That is when I read more about the species and learned that, as cavity nesters, it is possible to provide a house in which they might make a nest and raise their chicks.

Last year, I filmed a lovely Great Crested Flycatcher perched on the top rail of our backyard fence, which is a very open space sans any mature trees. However, there was a Bluebird box secured to the fence within just a couple of feet of the bird. It made me wonder if he was checking out the accommodations. Late in the season I discovered a location where I spotted a pair of the flycatchers on numerous occasions. They seemed to spend a great deal of time in a massive Oak tree in the front yard of our old house, as well as in the mature woods across the street, on a small parcel of land we also own and where there are a number of trees riddled with old woodpecker holes in the dead branches at the tops of the living trees.

During this past winter, I created several new, PVC nest boxes that we intended to put up well before the season in order to be prepared for the arrival of the Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. At that time, I also decided to use larger PVC pipe to create a nest box suited for Great Crested Flycatchers (based on the published dimensions for the species.) I had aspirations to film the flycatchers at their nest, where they would be “captive” subjects at least for a few weeks while feeding their chicks.

We mounted the “Penthouse” box at the top of a 16 foot pole nestled in the branches of the massive oak tree where I had seen the birds during the summer. Then, I waited and hoped for the flycatchers’ arrival, which is a somewhat later in the season than the time when Bluebirds come back to our area. While I was waiting, a pair of Bluebirds discovered the Penthouse and have now raised two broods in it this summer. I wasn’t mad about it, I was disappointed to have lost my opportunity to catch some good images of the Great Crested.

Here’s a photo of the “Penthouse.”

Not long ago, I as I moved into what I refer to as “woodpecker acre” I saw a small bird flit to the top of a large, dead branch of a living tree. I assumed it was a smaller woodpecker, maybe a Downy, so I aimed my lens. I was surprised to discover it was a Great Crested Flycatcher! Hoping it might return to the same spot, I took a position that offered what I hoped would be the best lighting, and settled for what I figured might be a long wait. But, I was wrong. Over the course of about forty minutes the bird returned several times, each time with some sort of insect or grub in its beak. My best guess is that it was feeding chicks in a nearby location and was using the dead branch as a stopping point before flying to the nest.

I feel very fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time to capture these images. Perhaps this Fall I will be inspired to figure a way to create another Great Crested specific box and place it in “woodpecker acre.” I have read that mounting it in a hanging or swinging fashion may be more attractive to this species. As our normal workload lessens in deep winter, I will have time to contemplate and build such a nesting cavity. Then, I will need to inspire Robert to help position it just so high up in the trees. Life is good when these sorts of plans can even be on one’s mind. For that I am grateful.