Gnatcatcher on the Meadow Trail

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches

     An appropriately named bird, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is considered a long-distance migrant if it's found in the upper reaches of the United States and southern Ontario. However, this bird can also reside year-round along the southern border of the U.S. I wasn’t expecting to find this bird in good numbers at Whitewater State Park in Minnesota, but after familiarizing myself with its song, I heard it on several occasions during my long weekend trip to the Driftless Area. 
     This particular breeding male (females and nonbreeding gnatcatchers don’t have black eyebrows) was busy feeding and singing, and interacting with other birds. I didn’t see a female around, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t one nearby. It’s not often that I revisit a trail on a birding trip, but because the Meadow Trail was teeming with a lot of birds, I returned the following day. In this same area, I was also captivated by a pair of Eastern Phoebes nesting in the cliffs above the Middle Fork Whitewater River. 
     Below are a couple of photos from my trip. One shows the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in flight, the same one referenced in my painting. Is it just about to snag a gnat? There's also a grainy shot of a phoebe on its nest with what looks to be an egg off to the side. 
     Stay wild, my friends!


Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 5/15/26, Whitewater State Park. Photo ©Becca Mulenburg


Eastern Phoebe, 5/15/2026, Whitewater State Park. Photo ©Becca Mulenburg


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Location: Duluth, MN 55811, USA

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