King of the Birds

Eastern Kingbirds nest on the pond by our home.

They are large, dark flycatchers, note the white tip to their tail.

Mrs. Kingbird was incubating eggs in her nest built in a Buttonbush, right over the water.

We have been seeing a lot of Eastern Kingbird fledglings recently. Kingbirds nest on the large pond where live. They usually build their nest in a Buttonbush shrub at the very edge of the water. Canoeists and fishermen passed by all day and the birds do not seem to mind. 

Eastern Kingbirds are large flycatchers, darting out from perches to catch insects. They breed in open areas, often near water, across the East and much of the West. Kingbirds have a territory of about an acre and will chase out larger birds, with the kingbirds diving at their back and chasing them much farther than the territorial boundary. We see this all the time. You don't want to mess with a kingbird, if you're another bird. The scientific name of Eastern Kingbird is Tyrannus tyrannus, so the joke goes that kingbirds are too tyrannical (two tyrannical).

Look for them when you go swimming, or boating this summer.