The Nutting’s flycatcher has caused a dramatic visitor increase to refuges surrounding Lake Havasu City.

Spotting of the Nutting’s flycatcher has increased visitors to area refuges. Submitted photo

Two of the small birds were spotted at the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge during the annual December bird counts.

DeeDee DeLorenzo, a local member of the National Audobon Society, said at the time the Flycatchers were an “extremely rare bird to see in Arizona.”

In January, the number of birders heading to the nearby refuge to spot the Flycatcher increased 60 percent from 1,600 in January 2011 to 2,700 visits in January.

Dick Gilbert, project leader for the Lake Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, stated in an e-mail to Today’s News-Herald that a father and son had recently visited to add the Nutting’s flycatcher to their “life bird lists.”

“They first had flow to Nebraska in freezing cold weather; they spotted the common crant among 150,000 Sandhill cranes. They then flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and drove to the Bill Williams River in hopes of seeing the Nutting’s flycatcher. They were again successful,” Gilbert stated. “The father’s life bird list is now at 5,000 species of birds. Birding visits have increased almost annually, but this year, with a number of unusual and rare bird sightings on the Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge, there has been a large increase in visits.”

Cathy Wise, an education director with Audubon Arizona, said Nutting’s flycatchers have been spotted in Arizona before, but she didn’t have immediate access to records to confirm the time and place of the last sighting. But she did say she was surprised to hear the species had been spotted near Lake Havasu City; the bird is primarily found in western Mexico, she said.

“They are just not typically seen here,” she said. “It’s not a commonly reported bird.”

The Bill Williams refuge is roughly 23 miles south of Lake Havasu City.

You may contact the reporter at jleatherman@havasunews.com