Most people visiting the Orlando Wetlands these days are going to see the beautiful pink Roseate Spoonbills and their babies. But there’s another little star of the wetlands who isn’t at showy. She’s a Vermilion Flycatcher, an infrequent visitor to Florida during the winter. When you first spot her in the distance, you might mistake her for an Eastern Phoebe. But look a little closer…

She’s in the same flycatcher family as the common Eastern Phoebe, but her coloring is a little lighter. She has streaks. Under her tail, she’s yellow, and starting to turn a faint red. Her normal range is in Mexico and up into the southwestern US, but a few of her friends show up in Florida each year.

Like all flycatchers, this bird likes to find perches out in the open. She sits there watching the insects fly around her. She patiently waits until the time is right, then darts out to grab a bug in mid-air. This can be exciting for photographers because she’ll often return to the same perch. Of course, trying to catch her in mid-flight is hard! Here I scored a picture of her returning with the bug in the quick instant before she devoured it.

She may not stick around much longer, so if you visit the wetlands, keep an eye out for her! You might even catch her posing on the pretty marsh flowers…