Did the Female Flycatcher Drown to death? Suicide? Or was it lack of mosquitoes due to Global Warming?

I will soon post a new blog post about my 4th forest fast enjoy the Solstice Cosmic Mother bliss. Unfortunately Global Warming took out one of my female Flycatchers - the arctic jetstream has put a huge dent in the mosquitoes. So these little Tropical Beauties can't feast like they need to. The other two females were dutifully brooding their eggs - with their big eyes sitting out of the nest. Then we got more mosquitoes on Friday and so the Flycatchers were out catching the bugs in mid-air. The deer were sleeping with me in the forest at night - I went out to work at night and I hear all these heavy footsteps around me. haha. I got a big knife just in case it might be some predator ready to pounce on me.

 I found her floating in one of the soak tanks. So it was strange because you don't expect a bird to "drown."

This is the one who had its nest right next to my trail - so while I obviously had aggravated it, during the day the Flycatcher is out catching mosquitoes most of the time anyway. Besides that would have been just a few days.

Earth - Birds are drowning themselves and we don't know why - BBC

www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151129-the-birds-that-seemingly-commit-suicide

Nov 29, 2015 - Baby starlings are drowning in groups of ten or more. ... Usually when many birds die at once, it can be attributed to disease or pollution.

 

Exactly - I had even made up a little story about how its 3 eggs were now gone - so the momma had committed suicide!! I thought it was too preposterous to consider real.

 

So the main cause is from the weather being too cold - northern Minnesota is more greatly affected by global warming since it's closer to the arctic. So the Arctic jetstream was bring freezing weather even into mid-June. So each time it froze at night then there were no mosquitoes for a couple days at least.

While the drownings seem to be accidental, their exact causes remain a mystery.

 After taking these photos I gave her a little grave - covering with enough leaves for proper composting - right next to a big Bolete mushroom (and I have a photo of the same species of shroom that I think is also edible).

So I'm still not sure specifically what kind of Flycatcher this is. But it was smaller than the other females and its nest was smaller and the nest then flew out of the tree the next day - falling to the ground. What happened to the three eggs - I have no idea. I looked around the ground under the nest - no broken eggs.

Oh well - maybe they're Eastern PeeWee or maybe Kingbird - but too small either way. How far do these birds fly to migrate?

"All we are saying is that, particularly during the months of May and June, it might be a good idea to put some gentle slopes or ramps that might safely help them exit the water," says Lawson.

I guess it really did DROWN to death! Amazingly tragic. I would have never guessed my stock tanks would be lethal but they were the only water source nearby. Although one of my make-shift tents has a "bird bath" in the roof that I have not fixed. The birds love to dive into that - no problem.

So for my area - the bird is most likely an Alder Flycatcher - and so it really does migrate from South America!!!! Amazing. This is why I call the EcoEcho Forest Cultivation site a "mini-forest" even though it's just 5 acres. That term "mini-forest" was used in our state Conservation Minnesota magazine - as an educational site for children. Any forest that has tropical songbirds migrating thousands of miles - to me that's a real forest.

Alder and Willow flycatchers cannot be identified reliably by sight alone, and even in-hand identification is not always certain. Alder (fee-bee-o song) and Willow (fitz-bew) flycatchers were considered one species called Traill's Flycatcher

Glad to know it's not just me!

Willow Flycatchers are drab brownish-olive birds that are best known for their ... just after they arrive from Central and South America where they spend the winter. .

 Hmm - time to listen to my EcoEcho Forest Cultivation recordings again! Do I hear a "free beer" call or a "fitz bew" call? Maybe both! The Willow Flycatcher is not supposed to be that far north but it sure looks like one!

 Flycatchers don’t learn their songs from their parents like many other birds. Instead flycatchers hatch knowing their songs. Scientists tested this by raising Willow Flycatchers in captivity while letting them listen to an Alder Flycatcher sing its free beer song. Despite hearing this song all day, Willow chicks grew up to sing their species’ own fitz-bew.

I guess it really was an Alder Flycatcher!

Yeah cuz the Willow Flycatcher has white bars on the wings - and I don't see any in the photos I took. That fits their distribution map also.

The Free Beer! call sounds familiar

Fitz-Bew! the Willow Flycatcher

yeah the first one sounds MORE familiar but I need to listen to my recordings again just to be sure.

OK so now we will move on to "part 2" of Week 4 at EcoEcho Forest Cultivation.