Neotropical songbirds are again on their way south for the winter. Many rely on specialized habitats to provide suitable feeding and resting areas for stopovers during their autumnal journey. The Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi), an uncommon find, almost always makes its appearances on the dead branches of a tall tree in a ridgetop forest clearing. This one was found this morning as it ambushed insects from a perch in a snag at the Second Mountain Hawk Watch in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Be sure to click the “Hawkwatcher’s Helper” tab at the top of this page to see updates that include descriptions of more than a dozen hawk watches in and near the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Links provide travel directions and sighting records for many of the lookouts. Plan to visit one or more this fall.
