Last week, I was birding at the Kellogg Center in Derby when I made an interesting observation. I watched two Nuthatches flycatching from a nearby tree. They did it repeatedly and they were accompanied by Red-bellied Woodpeckers doing the same thing. I’ve seen several woodpecker species flycatch in the fall (including sapsuckers) but this is the first time I can remember seeing Nuthatches do it. Of course, there are plenty of species that flycatch when the opportunity presents itself (Cedar Waxwings come to mind) but this latest observation reminds me that birds are resourceful and opportunistic, taking advantage of food sources as they present themselves. If extreme rarities are your thing, then I encourage you to look carefully at any large woodpecker that you see flycatching: Lewis’ Woodpecker is a western species that turns up in the Northeast on (very) rare occasion and it flycatches as its major means of feeding. Major kudos to anyone who finds that bird!
Chris Loscalzo,
Woodbridge
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