ML297288041

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

First heard then observed by Rudolf Koes and myself. Possibly only second ever record of the species for Nunavut. More details to be added. Rudolf Koes and I were leading a birding tour group. The group was focussed on a large pond harbouring an assortment of ducks and phalaropes. I went in closer to the pond to try to get some photos. I heard a distant but clear song of a Zonotrichia, with repeated whistled phrases that immediately reminded me of Golden-crowned Sparrow (GCSP). After hearing the bird sing twice, I yelled over to Rudolf, who was up at the roadside about 50 m away. I told him "I think I just heard a GCSP singing".  Shortly after, I noticed a sparrow sized bird on a wire across the pond, approximately 100-150 m away.  I alerted Rudolf who was about the same distance from the bird, but had a spotting scope in front of him, and he promptly got onto the bird. I snapped off the attached record shots at the same time. Rudolf said he could see that the bird does indeed look like GCSP. I asked him if he could rule out Harris's Sparrow (HASP) and he indicated that he saw no markings on the bird's face or head that suggest HASP. After a short minute, the bird popped down into willows below the power line. Along with a few others from our group, we searched the area thoroughly but could not turn up the bird again.  I am very familiar with GCSP both on the breeding grounds in the alpine, and along the West Coast where they winter (and often sing during winter). What I heard was most reminiscent of a WTSP song, but had an odd lowering pitch change at the end. I thought about Harris's Sparrow, a species that are uncommon but somewhat regular in the area, but their song is usually all on one pitch (but of course this can be variable). White-throated Sparrow (WTSP) is another consideration and they can often have variable songs. The song I heard however, didn't have the WTSP introduction, which I find even the odd sounding WTSP still have. White-crowned Sparrow are regular breeders  in the same habitat around Cambridge Bay, we had observed one at the same location and they have a much more complex song with trills between the whistled phrases. FOSP can be superficially similar but they have a different song, and relatively shorter tail that the photo seems to rule out. Most other sparrows and longspurs that are expected or possible for the location can be ruled out by vocalization and shape. Unfortunately the only photos have a wire that obscures the head. The photos show a somewhat reddish winged/backed Zonotrichia with what looks to be dusky grayish flanking. I would expect a HASP to be more contrasting but that might not be visible at this distance. Perhaps WTSP can't be ruled out from the photo. I am basing the ID on the song I heard, and the better look that Rudulf had through the spotting scope.   

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 70D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

100

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

530 pixels x 530 pixels

Original file size

34.85 KB