https://youtu.be/kXplFZmBGZA Hello Birdwatchers:    Yes the Mega Mega rarity, Yellow-browed Warbler found by Pat Hare, was seen all day yesterday. Here is a video to explain identification points. Enjoy https://youtu.be/kXplFZmBGZA Cheers Luc Fazio

On Sunday, April 25, 2021, 02:03:38 p.m. EDT, Fazio Luke <lukefazio@rogers.com> wrote:  

Thanks for this video, Luc! I posted this to Birdchat yesterday (and will add it to the Youtube comments): It's exciting enough when a rare stray shows up somewhere in your area, but this one was about a block and a half from my house.   The exact location, provided by Mike Burrell of OntBirds, was 43.558117, -79.686342 (https://goo.gl/maps/AJRp5efzc9mAKH5A6), at the back of Shalebank Hollow Park in Mississauga, Ontario. The bird is almost certainly a Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus), a Siberian species that previously hasn't apparently gotten any closer to Ontario than Wisconsin (in 2006).  It winters in Malaysia, where I've seen lots of them, but I (and many other birders) had to go and take a look anyway (and take, in my case, the attached much-cropped record photos).   Phylloscs are notoriously difficult to identify, but on checking my photos I concur with the identification.  Not only is this the likeliest species on the basis of range and migratory pattern, the presence of two strongly-marked wingbars and other features eliminates Arctic Warbler, and what appears to be a mostly-dark lower mandible eliminates possible alternatives such as Two-barred Warbler (Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus), Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus) and Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides).  The very similar Hume's Warbler (Phylloscopus humei) is unlikely on the basis of range and migratory pattern.  A Yellow-browed Warbler was recorded in British Columbia in the fall of 2019.  The closest previous record to Ontario would appear to be a bird recorded in Wisconsin in 2006.  See https://ibis.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/documents/YBWA-article-RT.pdf for an account of the British Columbia record, with detailed identification notes and photographs. Ronald Orenstein 1825 Shady Creek Court Mississauga, ON L5L 3W2 Canada ronorenstein.blogspot.com ronorensteinwriter.blogspot.com On Sunday, April 25, 2021, 02:03:38 p.m. EDT, Fazio Luke <lukefazio@rogers.com> wrote: https://youtu.be/kXplFZmBGZA Hello Birdwatchers:    Yes the Mega Mega rarity, Yellow-browed Warbler found by Pat Hare, was seen all day yesterday. Here is a video to explain identification points. Enjoy https://youtu.be/kXplFZmBGZA Cheers Luc Fazio -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: birdnews@ontbirds.ca. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at birdnews@ofo.ca. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.