One Moment in Nature is a reflection back in time to a moment of discovery as I explored the natural settings around me. Through the sharing of this moment, is my hope that readers will become motivated to learn more about our environment and its inhabitants, and become passionate advocates for conservation. One Moment in Nature is a Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain

THE MOMENT

Word had gone out about an extremely rare (Eastern Wood-Pewee) visitor to San Joaquin County. I contacted one of my earliest birding mentors, Eric Caine, and we made arrangements to meet up at the parking lot to the Oak Grove Park in Ripon on Sunday morning (8/4/2024) at 7:30. As we approached the area where the Eastern Wood-Pewee had been spotted an hour earlier, a dimunitive drab, olive greenish-gray flycatcher with bold wingbars passed over our heads and landed in the branches about 25 feet in front of us. As it paused briefly, I was able to observe its crested head, bold almond-shaped eyering and bicolored bill as it then flitted energetically from perch to perch. At one point it sallied out to catch a flying insect and then dove deeper into the undergrowth where it gave its typical tseet contact call.

ABOUT THE SPECIES

Distribution and Abundance: The Western Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) is a fairly common migrant passing through the Central Valley of California in the spring and fall.

Conservation Status: According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Western Flycatcher is categorized as a Species of Least Concern due to its extremely large range, stable population and extremely large population.

ABOUT THE AREA

Oak Grove Park is a beautiful Riparian Forest natural area consisting of mature Valley Oaks (Quercus lobata), Fremont Cottonwoods (Populus fremontii) and a dense understory of Red Willows (Salix laevigata) and California Grape (Vitis californica).

PHOTO GALLERY