Olive-sided Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher

A lot of birding is about being in the right place at the right time. Some people are really lucky and manage to find really great birds (either uncommon or rare for our area) on a regular basis; however, I am not one of those people, and tend to see mostly the expected species, even if they are great to me. On May 21st, however, I managed to be in the right place at the right time, and spotted an uncommon but fantastic bird at the Eagleson storm water ponds – an Olive-sided Flycatcher! These birds pass through Ottawa during migration but show up sporadically – I had great views of my lifer at Mud Lake in August 2015, and poor views of my second one two years later, also at Mud Lake. The bird I found today was entirely silent but very cooperative, sitting in the same tree and returning to it again and and again after sallying out to catch an insect.