December 26, 2023

We are Vermilion Flycatchers

We are known to wander about

We're from South America, but sometimes

We get to Florida when our internal GPS says "reroute".

Location: TM Goodwin WMA (top), Quito, Ecuador (bottom) 

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vermilion_Flycatcher/overview

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 18, 2023

I am an adult male Vermillion Flycatcher

My genus name translates to "fire-headed"

That's not a comment on my disposition, 

It's for my color: bright red and utterly splendid.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vermilion_Flycatcher/overview#

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 1, 2023

I am a male Vermilion Flycatcher

To impress a girl, I'll give her a butterfly

I carry large insects back to my perch

Where I whack them till they're tenderized.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vermilion_Flycatcher/lifehistory#food

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 11, 2022

I'm a male Vermilion Flycatcher

In Florida, I'm rarely found

I am easier to spot in South America

But in some places I'm not red, I'm grey-brown.

Special thanks to guest photographer, David Simpson.

Location: Wilton Manors

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vermilion_Flycatcher/id

Photo © 2022 David Simpson and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

March 9, 2020

Location: Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Okeechobee

I am a female Vermilion Flycatcher
If I were male, my color would be less dappled
I usually live in Mexico and much further south
But I also am very well traveled.

Sources: Cornell Lab All About Birds - Vermillion Flycatcher

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson