Early this morning Tina Green and AJ Hand reported an Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut, the sixth record for the species in the state. I was able to run over and join our friends to watch this awesome, hungry and active bird as it flew from tree to tree while feeding in lovely sunny, calm weather. Here are some record shots…
Birds like this come to us via the same mechanism as those Cave Swallows, as so many November rarities do – steady southerly flow pushing birds through the continental U.S. followed by a strong cold front and north/northwest winds, shoving them to the Northeast coast where they stop once they see all that water. Ash-throated Flycatchers, birds of the west that migrate into Central America, often keep traveling again quickly. Some previous vagrants have only remained in a given area for a few hours. I hope this friendly little one enjoys our shores for a bit, refuels and finds its way back to a more tropical winter home.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
