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Picture Pages: Western Kingbird The Howland
Picture Pages: Western KingbirdPage by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2004/03/05 01:37:27 $ (UTC)
The Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) is a type of flycatcher that hangs around in dry, open areas primarily of the Western United States. It often perches in places where it can be easily seen, since from there it can easily see the bugs that it takes from the air with fun aerial antics. This is a species that seems to be benefiting from human activity, since its range has expanded along with agricultural development.
While Calgary is definitely part of the west, we don't get many Western Kingbirds here since we are on the northern extremity of the species' range. I had to travel to Colorado to photograph one. Ironically, the Eastern Kingbird is far more common in Calgary.
Resources where you can find out more:
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Here is another Western Kingbird -- or perhaps it is the same one pictured below? This photo was taken June 16, 2003, not far from the location of the shots below, near a client office in Englewood, Colorado. The open field referred to below is now flattened and paved over, turned into a tennis court as part of the nearby recreation center. The Kingbirds consequently have relocated themselves over to another empty field near the small stream along which I often take a walk. Likewise for the Say's Phoebes, Western Meadowlarks and other birds that used to inhabit the field now populated (infrequently, I might add) by tennis players.
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I came across a Western Kingbird while out for a mosey around lunch time, August 10, 2002 in Englewood, Colorado (a southern 'burb of Denver). I was moving through an open field near a recreational spot when I spotted the bird from some distance away going for insects in the air. I wasn't able to identify it immediately since there were several types of fly-catching birds in the area, including the darker and more skittish Say's Phoebe. (There were also some ground birds including a Northern Flicker and a Western Meadowlark.) After I stalked the bird from a distance for about 10 minutes, it eventually flew into a tree and graciously posed for a few photos. As I cautiously crept closer every few shots, it eventually perked up. So I backed off and went on to see what else I could discover. (Shooting birds with "only" 12X optical zoom is a challenge.) The grainy photo quality mostly is from shooting at ISO 400; I should have been using 100.
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Another shot of the preceding Western Kingbird from August 10.
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