Empidonax difficilis
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The western flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) is a small insectivorous bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is native to western North America, where it breeds in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast forests and mountain ranges from California to Alaska and south to central Mexico; northern populations migrate south to Mexico for the winter.
The western flycatcher was recognized as a single species until 1989, when the American Ornithologists' Union split it into two different species: the Pacific-slope flycatcher (E. difficilis) of coastal western North America and parts of the western Rocky Mountains, and the Cordilleran flycatcher (E. occidentalis) of the interior Rocky Mountains, with both species wintering in Mexico. Both species looked virtually identical to one another, with the split being based on differing breeding habitats and apparent differences in songs and calls. The split was recognized until 2023, when the American Ornithologists' Union and International Ornithological Congress again lumped both species due to a lack of consistent vocal, genetic, morphological differences and extensive hybridization across much of their range.
There are... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific-slope Flycatcher sighting in Olympic National Park on a given day, based on 1,363 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 216 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific-slope Flycatcher in Olympic National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months. That is one of Olympic National Park's driest months, with about 85 mm of rain against 370 mm in November.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pacific-slope Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Pacific-slope Flycatcher sightings, Olympic National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Redwood National Park (United States, about 20%) and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pacific-slope Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Olympic National Park (1,363 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
