ML62546991

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Female. Photo courtesy of Stephen Sprague.

Observation details

Original observer: Stephen Sprague. First documented record for Muskoka. Source: Stephen Sprague pers. comm. 2012; Bob Bowles pers. comm. 2012; Al Sinclair pers. comm. 2017. Two birds were seen on the outskirts of Bracebridge in the early 1990’s. There is no question that they were Orchard Orioles, as they were photographed and the sighting was confirmed by others, but when the sighting occurred is not clear (Stephen Sprague pers. comm. 2012). Stephen Sprague discovered a male in first summer (first alternate) plumage and a female on his South Monck Drive property and was able to photograph the birds as they sat on a hydro wire. The black bib on the chest of the male is very prominent and black can be seen on the foreface, eliminating first year male Hooded, Bullock’s, and Baltimore Orioles (Sibley 2000). Sprague remembered that the sighting occurred before January 1993, sometime in the early 1990’s (Sprague pers. comm. 2012). Bob Bowles, who conducted breeding bird surveys in June and July as part of the Muskoka Heritage Areas Program (MHAP) in the years 1990 – 1992, remembers going to confirm identification of the birds (Bowles pers. comm. 2012). In a letter dated 11 February 1992, Ron Pittaway, who had been contacted by Al Sinclair regarding the identification of the birds, offered his opinion that the birds were a male in first summer plumage and a female. The best estimate, then, is that this record dates from June or July of 1990 or 1991. The date of 20 June 1991 has been used for this eBird record. These birds were included in the list of breeding birds compiled as part of the MHAP, and the species is denoted as a “rare” breeding bird in the 15 November 1992 composite bird list (Bowles, Bergsma, and Reid 1995). The birds were observed in appropriate habitat during the breeding season, although no nest or young were observed. Pittaway (pers. comm. 1992) indicated that males in first summer plumage occasionally breed. Although a breeding record here would represent a considerable northward extension of this species’ breeding range, it is not beyond the realm of possibility. Just to the south of Port Severn at Waubaushene, Simcoe County, breeding was confirmed on 6 July 1976, when Alex Mills and Chris Harris observed an adult bird feeding at least two recently fledged young (eBird S8950078).

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

1600

Focal length

13 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/6 sec

Dimensions

4000 pixels x 2248 pixels

Original file size

1.79 MB