Acadian Flycatcher

 

We had a wonderful morning photographing birds at the Denison Bioreserve in Licking County (Ohio) this morning. Lots of cool photo subjects: nesting pair of Orchard Orioles that included a first-year "helper" male, an Eastern Bluebird with large prominent caterpillar for its nestlings, Indigo Bunting, Common Yellowthroat and some other stuff.

But it was this inconspicuous flycatcher that pleased me the most. In all my years of bird photography, I had never gotten presentable imagery of an Acadian Flycatcher, despite having seen and heard hundreds (thousands?) of them. They live in the subcanopy gloom of older forests and are most easily detected by their calls and songs. I include a photo of the very spot where this bird - and its mate - are nesting. Both birds were hunting at close range and presented themselves rather nicely on occasion. Nonetheless, despite using the slowest shutter speed I thought I could get away with, and the lens aperture wide open, the ISO was still 12,800. The Canon R5 deals with high ISO's better than any camera I have ever had, though.

Acadian Flycatcher breeding habitat. This is the very spot where I photographed the male in my photos. His mate was hunting nearby, and we saw her well but could not manage images. I know the bird that I photographed was a male because he was singing. Separating the sexes visually is impossible, insofar as I know.

The breeding range of the Acadian Flycatcher mirrors that of the original eastern deciduous forest, and it is a common breeder wherever suitable woods occur in Ohio. This species winters from southern Central America south into South America, as far south as Ecuador. While songs/calls are the best way to identify this species - and the other four Empidonax flycatchers that occur in Ohio - the Acadian has some distinctive characters. It is quite green on the back and has the longest primary feathers of this group, as well as the widest bill. The very long wings and broad-based bill can be seen in my photos, especially the image above.

May 25, 2026.