14 June 2013. Today I joined a team of biologists looking to confirm the presence of Acadian Flycatchers in an area where they’ve been found, at least one has – maybe there’s a pair. Let’s hope. Acadian Flycatchers are rare in Ontario but really widespread across the eastern half of the U.S.A. Southern Ontario is at the northern limit of the Acadian Flycatchers’ range and that makes it rare and worth paying attention to. At this particular site we had a decent expectation of spotting one and were in luck. One approached us close enough to get a couple of decent shots in the gloom. Here it is, unquestionably Bird of the Day.
The rest of our morning was pleasant if largely uneventful. For a while we listened to a Scarlet Tanager and discussed the difference between its song and that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. They are confusable, yet if you hear them both more or less together, they’re easy to tell apart. Various authors describe the Scarlet Tanager’s song as like a robin with a sore throat, which is a fair description, and to that I would add that it sounds somewhat bored. The tired sounding song has a pendulum rhythm, sort of, “o–kay, if – I must, I’ll – sing, hows –that”. The Grosbeak too has a bit of back and forth, yet not as rhythmically, its notes are purer, more rounded and often seem disconnected from each other.