BIRD TALK: THE ELUSIVE BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER

By Greg Dunne

March 15, 2014 (Cowles Mountain)--The Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher is a small songbird living here in our East County that reminds me of the Wrentit.  It mainly reminds me of the Wrentit because it is not easily seen.  It is always a thrill when you can get a glimpse of this beautiful, but tiny bird. It will be a great time to observe small songbirds now that the rains have cleared and the sun reappears.

The Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher can be frustrating for the birder and photographer as it darts around the bushes not staying still but for a fleeting moment. It’s been my experience that if you see some tiny birds in the chaparral bushes (smaller than Finches and Sparrows) darting around with great enthusiasm it is likely to be the Bushtit, Wrentits or the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.

There are four species of Gnatcatchers that can be found in North America: the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, the California Gnatcatcher, the Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher, and the Black-Capped Gnatcatcher.  Of the four, the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher is the most common. It can be found in our East County from La Mesa to Pine Valley and I’ve seen it regularly in the winter at both Lake Murray and Mission Trails Regional Park. Usually in pairs, you’ll notice a long tail and a slightly simmering blue gray color to their feathers. Generally, while not thinking about or trying to find one, I’ll spot these birds on short hikes at Mission Trails when suddenly they appear in the bushes next to the trail.

Its diet mainly consists of insects with very little vegetation. Flicking its white-edged tail from side to side, the gnatcatcher may scare up hiding insects to feed on. By virtue of its fondness for some of the insects most harmful to man's interests, it is considered to be an entirely beneficial bird. The Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher lays her eggs mainly between mid April to early July. Nests can be build high or low, heights observers described range from four to fifty feet. From Laurel Sumac to Black Oak and Coulter Pine, the Gnatcatcher has a wide variety of nest building habitats.

It is believed that the introduction of Cowbird trapping along the river in Mission Trails Regional Park in 2010 has helped increase the Gnatcatcher’s population. It was put in place to help the Least Bell’s Vireo, but also befitted the Gnatcatcher. The Cowbird lays its eggs in other birds nest and is dependent on the host to incubate their eggs and raise their young. Many songbird species did not evolve with the cowbird and have no experience with rejecting the cowbird eggs (like the Blackbird family) to take care of their own eggs and young. This trapping in gives the Gnatcatchers and other songbirds a fighting chance.

These photos here are taken on Cowles Mountain a few weeks ago. I’ve seen the Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers most frequently on Cowles Mountain and the other peaks at Mission Trails, but I have also seen them at Lake Murray and Lake Jennings. Happy birding and get out for a walk and enjoy our beautiful nature as our sun comes back to us in the East County.