Blue-Grey Gnat Catcher?

[Jim Stegall]

Is anyone familiar with the Blue-Grey Gnat Catcher? I saw a bird fitting its description in the back yard yesterday evening just before dusk. I'm interested in knowing what others' experiences have been with this bird. Is it common around here, does it regularly visit feeders or does it only subsist on insects it catches?

[Carol Buie-Jackson]

I've never seen one at my feeders but I have seen them in the area.....at Reedy Creek and on a farm near Waxhaw. If you have them in your yard, you should probably be able to feed them mealworms. They are beautiful little birds. They flit around a lot and its usually the tail that I can identify first because its long and has white stripes on the side.

[Jim Stegall]

Yes, it was that black and white tail that clinched the identification for me. It's really quite striking. This one was preening himself for quite a while, and he would occasionaly 'scissors' his tail, revealing the distinctive black and white tail pattern.
I'll try the mealworms; I understand they are also a favorite of bluebirds.

[Dee & Frank Hughes]

Hey Jim- I also had what I think was a pair at my water bath a few nights back. They landed almost in front of me and took their baths paying me no attention. This was my first ever for this bird - I had a good close look and am sure they were Blue-Greys. haven't seen them since.

[Jim Stegall]

Mine was a first encounter too. I had seen them quite often in the guide book and wondered why I never saw them in the field. It's not like we don't have plenty of gnats to catch in and around the backyard. I guess it's just not their preferred habitat.

[Carol Buie-Jackson]

Lots of migrants moving thru the area these days too. I expect the Indigo Buntings and Rose Breasted Grosbeaks any day now. An indigo was sighted at Squirrel Lake but not in my yard yet. If you want to increase your chances for buntings, put out a tube feeder full of white millet and also sprinkle some on the ground.

I spoke with another member on this site about the BG Gnatcatchers and he said a pair is nesting in his yard for the second year in a row. He lives on a large piece of property near Waxhaw.

[Steve Bennett]

They are not real common. I have seen a few but never at a bird feeder, but there is a first for everything. They are real small birds. I have a red bellied wood pecker that sometimes feeds at my feeder.

Steve Bennett

[Sandy Lee]

Used to have them very frequently in NY and Florida. I hear them here but do not see them too often. I have not seen them at a feeder. They are really neat little birds.