Earlier today (noon, October 31) Ted Armstrong photographed a Rock Wren at Hurkett Dock. Details are found below in Ted's email.
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ted Armstrong <tedarmstron...@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 10:02 PM Subject: [NWObirds] Hurkett Dock - Rock Wren? To: NWObirds <nwobi...@googlegroups.com> Hello NWO Birds. I was at a windy, cool Hurkett Dock at noon today. On the path to the closed-off DFO dock, a wren appeared at the edge of the cattails on the hard rock/paved surface between the parth and the cattails. It appeared for a few seconds, disappeared, then re-appeared for a few more seconds and obligingly posed for a few photos. It never vocalized. I didn't have my field guides with me (and I was cold), and unfortunately I decided that my photos were good enough to allow me to confirm the species back home. While the overall appearance doesn't seem a great match for the profile of Rock Wren images in my field guides, the field marks seem spot-on - finely streaked breast, dull gray-brown back, cinnamon-coloured flanks & rump patch, buffy tail tips, light gray line over the eye, dark legs, darkish tail band. I stand to be corrected, but believe that this was a Rock Wren. I note just a couple of previous Thunder Bay District records in eBird. I've attached my cropped photos if anyone wants to weigh in. I am sorry that I didn't recognize this for what it was and get this message posted sooner. The bird didn't flush, it just melted back into the rocks again. Ted -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Ontbirds is reserved for sightings of provincially rare birds. To post a message on Ontbirds, send an email to: birdalert@ontbirds.ca. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Ontbirds Moderators by email at birdal...@ofo.ca. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
