Timiskaming Birds Forum

This possible Golden-winged Warbler would be a first record for Timiskaming, and perhaps a northernmost record for Ontario.  As such, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, lest I discover it to be something more common.  No actual sighting was made, but a distinctive, very buzzy three note "Beee, bzzz, bzzz" call was heard several times this morning in perfectly suited habitat.  The "bzzz" notes were on a lower pitch than the first note, and the call was much "buzzier" than a Black-throated Green Warbler's song. Unfortunately, I was not able to take the time this morning to make a careful survey of the area.  I plan to return to the area this evening to see if I can relocate and visually confirm identity.  Until I can spend some time having a slow and careful search, I do not want to disclose the precise location, though I can tell you it is in Harley Township.  This species nests on the ground, and having several people tramping through the area would not be wise if this is, in fact, a nesting Golden-winged.  I'll keep you all abreast of any additional details as they become available.  Cheers for now.

Is it a suitable habitat for Clay-colored Sparrow?

Good call Jonathan (no pun intended).  I was able to get back to the location yesterday evening where I had heard that buzzy call on the weekend.  I was able to relocate the call and track down the singer, which did indeed turn out to be a Clay-colored Sparrow.  I was able to get some reasonable photos, so will share some with you this evening. (The best one will, of course, eventually get posted to the species page.) This is a lifer bird for me, whereas the Golden-winged Warbler would not have been, so I am very pleased. (Though the warbler would still have been a nicer bird for the Timiskaming checklist.)

Cheers all.

Here in good habitat, 2 to 5 pairs of clay-colored can be found very close to each other.  Search for more and you might find a surprise.  I'm pretty sure clay-colored are more common around here than most people think.

To me it's a very nice non-agressive sparrow with soft colours and most important, that can eat lots of green caterpillars!

As promised, here is a photo of the sparrow I reported on July 8th.  Another appears on the species page.