{"id":13870,"date":"2014-01-26T05:37:39","date_gmt":"2014-01-26T12:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=13870"},"modified":"2022-05-11T04:11:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T10:11:06","slug":"gray-flycatcher-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/26\/gray-flycatcher-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray Flycatcher at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-102266 size-full\" title=\"Gray Flycatcher eating a Damselfly\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Flycatcher eating a Damselfly, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065-800x571.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Gray Flycatcher eating a Damselfly\u00a0\u2013 Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not a set up<\/span><\/p>\n<p>These Gray Flycatcher\u00a0images were taken in August of 2009 from the auto tour route at <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fws.gov\/refuge\/bear_river_migratory_bird_refuge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/a><\/span> in northern Utah. Gray Flycatchers are generally found in sagebrush and arid busy habitats so it was a real treat to see this one\u00a0in\u00a0the marshy habitat of the refuge.<\/p>\n<p>The Gray Flycatcher moved quickly and it was a challenge to keep track of it let alone get decent images of it as it snatched insects out of the air. In this image the wings of a damselfly can be seen on the far side of its bill and on the near side of the bill the tail of the damselfly is hanging down from the back of the bill.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-102268 size-full\" title=\"Gray Flycatcher on a twig\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096.jpg\" alt=\"Gray Flycatcher on a twig, Bear River National Wildlife Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"663\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27663%27%20height%3D%27800%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20663%20800%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27663%27%20height%3D%27800%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096-200x241.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096-207x250.jpg 207w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096-249x300.jpg 249w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096-400x483.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096-600x724.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-perched-mia-mcpherson-8096.jpg 663w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Gray Flycatcher on a twig\u00a0\u2013 Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not a set up<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Gray Flycatcher dispatched the damselfly very quickly and stayed on the twig for just a few moments before it flew away again. It was a delight to have the golden tones of the phragmites in the distance which created a lovely background.<\/p>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t seen another Gray Flycatcher at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge since the time I photographed this one so maybe it was just migrating through. They are wonderful subjects though and I hope to locate more of them.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/gray-flycatcher-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Gray Flycatcher photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gray Flycatchers are generally found in sagebrush and arid busy habitats so it was a real treat to see this one in the marshy habitat of the refuge. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,413,26],"tags":[4004,415,4286,701,3808,4884,2421,4094,4104,2315,4095],"class_list":["post-13870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-gray-flycatcher","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-damselfly","tag-eating","tag-empidonax-wrightii","tag-flycatcher","tag-flycatchers","tag-gray-flycatcher","tag-marsh","tag-perched","tag-summer-3","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfly-utah-mia-mcpherson-8065.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3BI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47460,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/06\/27\/perched-gray-flycatcher-eating-a-damselfly\/","url_meta":{"origin":13870,"position":0},"title":"Perched Gray Flycatcher Eating A Damselfly","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As I watched the Gray Flycatcher it flew towards me, snatched a damselfly from mid air then landed on a dead branch not too far away and proceeded to eat it while I photographed the bird.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gray Flycatcher with Damselfly","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfy-mia-mcpherson-utah-8063.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfy-mia-mcpherson-utah-8063.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfy-mia-mcpherson-utah-8063.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-damselfy-mia-mcpherson-utah-8063.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22840,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/25\/shades-of-gray-in-three-bird-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":13870,"position":1},"title":"Shades of Gray in Three Bird Species","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been gray for a couple of days and it supposed to be gray until this front passes and while gray days can get me down gray birds lift me back up.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bahamas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bahamas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/bahamas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Gray Partridge running through a field in Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-adult-mia-mcpherson-1335.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-adult-mia-mcpherson-1335.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-adult-mia-mcpherson-1335.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/gray-partridge-adult-mia-mcpherson-1335.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143716,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/05\/09\/scissor-tailed-flycatcher-on-a-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":13870,"position":2},"title":"Scissor-tailed Flycatcher On A Post","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, I was delighted to have an adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in my viewfinder for a bit at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scissor-tailed Flycatcher perched on a wooden post, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/scissor-tailed-flycatcher-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/scissor-tailed-flycatcher-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/scissor-tailed-flycatcher-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1317.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/scissor-tailed-flycatcher-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1317.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":102297,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/11\/gray-flycatcher-and-memories-of-billy-fenimore\/","url_meta":{"origin":13870,"position":3},"title":"Gray Flycatcher And Memories Of Billy Fenimore","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was out in the West Desert of Utah yesterday I thought about my friend Billy Fenimore and his family as I photographed this adult Gray Flycatcher.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Gray Flycatcher in spring, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-in-junipers-mia-mcpherson-2288.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-in-junipers-mia-mcpherson-2288.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-in-junipers-mia-mcpherson-2288.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gray-flycatcher-in-junipers-mia-mcpherson-2288.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104467,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/23\/willow-flycatcher-in-july\/","url_meta":{"origin":13870,"position":4},"title":"Willow Flycatcher In July","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I spent a few minutes with a cooperative adult Willow Flycatcher in a willow thicket high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Willow Flycatcher on a July morning, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/willow-flycatcher-adult-in-july-mia-mcpherson-7074.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/willow-flycatcher-adult-in-july-mia-mcpherson-7074.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/willow-flycatcher-adult-in-july-mia-mcpherson-7074.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/willow-flycatcher-adult-in-july-mia-mcpherson-7074.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114813,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/29\/great-crested-flycatcher-in-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":13870,"position":5},"title":"Great Crested Flycatcher In Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While I visited my friend Steve in Arkansas, I was happy to hear, see, and take a few Great Crested Flycatcher photos in his yard and at the refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Great Crested Flycatcher in Arkansas, Sebastian County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Great-Crested-Flycatcher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Great-Crested-Flycatcher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Great-Crested-Flycatcher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6261.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Great-Crested-Flycatcher-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6261.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}