Nesting Flycatchers Every year these yellow birds return in spring to raise their young. The wooded area of the Old Burying Ground provides the perfect habitat for Great Crested Flycatchers. Here’s a bird that arrived in April… During May, I watched the flycatchers make the cemetery their home and begin looking for nest sites… Their preference is for natural cavities in dead limbs. Here’s a flycatcher that seems to have found a good nesting site about twenty feet above the ground with a well-defined entry hole… Once selected, the female of the mating pair assumes the role of nest-builder. She collects and stuffs materials into the cavity to form a cup nest to hold the eggs. This process takes her about a week, starting early in June. Meanwhile, here is the male, perched on a nearby cable, where he can keep guard of his nest site and proclaim his territory by singing … Inside the nest cavity, there’s a lot of activity. First, the female lays between 4 and 8 eggs. She does this just once during the breeding season. She then incubates them until they hatch. The young are helpless and rely on their parents for care. So by mid-June both parents start feeding the juveniles, bringing insects that they catch… The pipe-like passage to the nest allows the adults to fly out with great speed in pursuit of more food… The young seem to be insatiable and the parents work tirelessly to satisfy them, stuffing whole moths, worms, and other insects down their throats… It must be exhausting work. This parent seems to be panting… It takes about two weeks for the chicks to leave the nest. With the help of their parents, they learn to fly about on their own within a week or two. Here’s a young fledgling ready for independence… May 26 For another look at this species: Great Crested Flycatcher >> Here’s another flycatcher species: Eastern Kingbird >> Please follow and like: Share this:FacebookXLike this:Like Loading... Post navigation Two Owl Nestlings (2022)Two Owl Fledglings (2022)