WASHINGTON COUNTY — While walking through dense vegetation near the Virgin River, he didn’t see a bird at first. The biologist heard its call — the iconic “fitz-bew” sound males often sing to attract a mate or mark their territory.
Christian Edwards is a native aquatics biologist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ Washington County Field Office. Earlier this week, he was conducting a survey of endangered Southwestern willow flycatchers.
The birds are members of the Empidonax genus — the name of which comes from the ancient Greek words “empis” and “annax,” translating to gnat master and reminiscent of their current moniker, “flycatcher.”
Slightly smaller than an American Robin, they are one of the most difficult birds to identify by sight, but the American Bird Conservancy said experienced birders can recognize them by sound.
Edwards said they’re often shy.
“They’ll come up to the top of the tree and do some singing, but they usually just stay down in the thick understory where they like to nest,” he said, adding that observers are more likely to see males, who perch on treetops looking for females.
Several males were on the property he was surveying, which is owned by the Washington County Water Conservancy District and is known to have nesting birds. Some of the males were alone; one had a single mate, and another had two.
“They can exist in these polygynous relationships,” Edwards said. “So, one male can have two females. And so he has two females with nests with three eggs each.”
Nests are the focus of Edwards’s current survey, and this type of monitoring requires additional permitting. A person’s presence can disrupt a female bird that is tending to eggs or building a nest. So, while Edwards was looking for nests and would often scope them to determine the number of eggs present, the division and other agencies may also conduct standard surveys.
In these, the surveyor looks for signs of the birds, like sightings or calls. If they suspect birds are present in an area that is not known for nesting, they might play the “fitz-bew” call on a radio, and if a male hears it thinking it’s another male, he may respond.
This year is the 17th year the DWR has conducted the surveys. The agency’s goals are twofold: to learn where the birds are and to collect data about their nests. The information gained from these efforts includes how populations are faring and if and why nests have failed, Edwards said.
“In the end, it’s, ‘How many birds are here?’ And trying to assist in the recovery of the species,” he said. “And we can share that data with everybody else.”
The nests and birds themselves can be difficult to spot, as they prefer to nest in dense vegetation, concealing them from predators like Cooper’s hawks. During the survey, a pair of these raptors was spotted perched on a dead tree above the nesting site.
Because the native willow trees are less “messy” than invasive tamarisk, flycatchers often prefer the latter, complicating efforts to rid habitats of the “destructive” plant, St. George News reported.
Washington County’s population of flycatchers is “holding steady,” and surveyors have found nine territorial males and seven females across three breeding sites near the Virgin River in the St. George study area, Edwards said. However, they are still at risk due to habitat loss caused by human development.
“We’re just losing habitat that they need to breed,” he said. “So yeah, humans are the driving factor, but still, there’s climate change and drought or lack of water. These birds rely on water.
“They breed in habitats where there’s water nearby, and if the rivers are shrinking and there’s not enough water to kind of flood the flood plain like it does, then the habitat becomes less suitable.”
Another threat to the species is the cowbird. The parasitic bird that will remove an egg from a flycatcher’s nest, leaving its own egg behind, reminiscent of changeling folklore, where fairies kidnap a human child and leave a young fairy in its place.
Cowbird hatchlings tend to hatch early and grow more quickly than flycatchers, outcompeting the endangered birds and may cause additional baby flycatcher deaths, Edwards said.
“If the flycatcher recognizes the cowbird egg, and if it were to pick it up and take it out, the cowbird will come and lay another egg,” he added, noting that cowbirds may monitor the flycatcher’s nest for just such an occurrence.
Why should Southern Utahns care?
“Why would anybody care for the flycatcher? It’s a bird that they’ll probably never see,” Edwards said. “But with any small animal, whether it’s a fish or an insect or a bird, we don’t really know the kind of effect that they’ll have on the ecosystem until potentially they’re gone.”
Edwards said the species plays a role in its environment, eating insects and falling prey to native predators.
“If we have a bird that disappears or any species that disappears, it’s going to affect the other species around them,” he said. “It’s going to affect the environment, and eventually, it could affect us, honestly, as humans that live down here … I feel like if we’re losing these species, you know, honestly, we’re losing a little bit of ourselves. They play an important part in the culture and history of the Southwest.”
Additionally, rare birds attract birders who spend “millions or billions” on travel, birding equipment and other expenses. And Edwards said he thinks locals appreciate these species as well.
“If there’s a bird that has critical habitat and multiple groups — the city, the county and the state — are working together to preserve that habitat, it benefits humans,” he said, adding that locals enjoy recreating along the Virgin River, where areas are preserved to benefit flycatchers.
Because flycatchers live in dense vegetation and their nests are difficult to spot, most people will not come across this endangered bird. However, if they do, Edwards said it’s important to remain a respectful distance away and avoid disclosing the animal’s location on eBird or otherwise, as it could attract others.
For instance, a surveyor of the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo shared a story with Edwards.
“Someone did a survey and found a pair of cuckoos, and they reported it on eBird,” he recalled. “And so many people came to the nest that it actually caused damage to the nest area, and the cuckoos left — they abandoned their nest.”
Photo Gallery
A Southwestern willow flycatcher feeds its young, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Christian Edwards/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News A Southwestern willow flycatcher perches, Washington County, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Christian Edwards/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News Utah Division of Wildlife biologist Christian Edwards talks about Southwestern willow flycatchers, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News The Utah Department of Natural Resources created this trap to capture parasitic cowbirds, which are a threat to endangered Southwestern willow flycatchers, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News Biologist Christian Edwards scopes a Southwestern willow flycatcher nest, Washington County, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Christian Edwards/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News Utah Division of Wildlife biologist Christian Edwards looks for Southwestern willow flycatchers, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News Southwestern willow flycatchers prefer to nest in dense vegetation, often preferring "messy"
and invasive tamarisk trees over native plants, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News A nest sits in a tamarisk tree. It could be an old Southwestern willow flycatcher nest, but because several bird species create similar nests, it can be difficult to determine, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News Utah Division of Wildlife biologist Christian Edwards looks for Southwestern willow flycatchers, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News A Cooper's hawk perches in a Southwestern willow flycatcher nesting site, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News A Southwestern willow flycatcher perches, Washington County, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Christian Edwards/Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George News New growth dominates an area of riparian habitat near a Southwestern willow flycatcher nesting site, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News Utah Division of Wildlife biologist Christian Edwards looks for Southwestern willow flycatchers, Washington County, Utah, June 11, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News
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