This Morning Outside

by Diane Porter

August 24, 2010
In a tall dead tree overlooking Birdwatching Dot Com
Fairfield, Iowa

I've seen Olive-sided Flycatchers only in September, in years past, when they come through Iowa on fall migration. But this August morning, there it was, perched in the top of a tall dead elm, with the most commanding of views over hundreds of acres.

Photo copyright 2010 Michael and Diane Porter

I hope that it stays around for a week or two, or that others of its species also find this a good stopping place. What will really make my day will be if one of them belts out its heart-cheering song, Quick! Three beers! With the middle word the loudest and highest pitched.

Olive-sided Flycatchers are pretty rare in eastern Iowa. They take me back to where I first watched birds, in the arid mountains of southern California. There Quick-three-beers was often the song of the morning.

—Diane Porter

See more pictures
from This Morning Outside