Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

      Lowland Brush
   adjacent to:
      (Edge or Riparian)

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: Alder Flycatchers live in brush and shrubby wetlands, along the edges of woods in damp thickets of alder buckthorn, at the edges of bogs where standing dead trees are present and along the edges of streams. They nest in shrubs of buttonbush, red osier dogwood, gray dogwood, willow and alder. The small number of confirmed breeding records in the Atlas probably stems from their inconspicuous behavior near the concealed nests and their relatively inaccessible nesting sites, in shrubs growing in knee-deep water and muck.

Habitat: Breeding: Low, damp thickets bordering bogs, swamps, and marshes. Often in alders, willows, elders, sumacs, viburnums. Prefers open areas.

Special Habitat Requirements: Areas with dense, low shrubs and clearings (edges).

Habitat: Willows, alders, brushy swamps, swales. Breeds in thickets of deciduous trees and shrubs, usually near water, as around streams, ponds, or bogs. Especially common in thickets of willows or alders.

Diet: Mostly insects. Differences in diet, if any, between this species and Willow Flycatcher are not well known. Apparently eats mostly insects, including wasps, bees, winged ants, beetles, flies, caterpillars, moths, true bugs, and others. Also eats some spiders, a few berries, and possibly some seeds.

Nest: Site is usually low in a deciduous shrub, averaging about 2 feet up, usually lower than 6 feet above the ground. Placed in a vertical or diagonal fork in a branch. Nest is an open cup, usually built rather loosely of grass, weeds, strips of bark, small twigs, rootlets, lined with plant down or other soft materials. Nest may have strips of grass or bark dangling from the bottom.