We’ve heard from our staff and our leaders at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that eastern phoebes have been spotted by attentive birdwatchers across the state. Have you seen a phoebe at your feeder recently?
If you want to know more, read on:
- One of the easiest of all songs to learn, phoebes say their name, a robust, emphatic “Feebee!”
- This is also our hardiest flycatcher, arriving very early in spring, and a few will even overwinter in mild years.
- Eastern phoebes are intimately associated with people and their structures, as they build their nests under bridges, on building ledges, and in culverts.
- Some birds can still be found nesting on cliff faces in the Hocking Hills region.
- Their range is statewide, but least common in heavily agricultural western Ohio.
- These birds live in open woodlands, clearings, forest edges; most often found near water.
Want to see these in Ohio?
Easily found in Hocking Hills Ohio State Parks and that region; a pair has nested for decades on the Howald mausoleum by the pond in Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus.
Wherever you go to find birds, take our field guide with you: http://ow.ly/aMiV50yR56W
Dive deeper! What can our followers tell us about:
What do eastern phoebe eat? (There is a hint above!)
What is special about their beak?
What makes the Hocking Hills area so rich with wildlife diversity?