Golden-winged Warbler at the Carden Alvar

The highlight of our trip to Carden Alvar in Ontario, Canada this summer was definitely getting some nice views of a Golden-winged Warbler.

When I first got a glimpse of the Golden-winged Warbler sitting in a distant bush, I thought at first that it was a Common Yellowthroat.

Drawing a little closer to the shrub,I was pleasantly surprised to see this gorgeous male.

The walking trail at Cameron Ranch leads through a part of the Carden Alvar which is truly a birders’ paradise and is also home to a variety of animals. Cameron Ranch is made up of 2,869 acres. It and the Carden Alvar, in general, are designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International and Bird Studies Canada.

Black Bears and Moose are often out and about such as this Black Bear sow showing her 3 cubs the lay of the land during wild strawberry season. They were eating wild berries along the Cameron Ranch trail during one of our past visits.

At the Carden Alvar, in the spring during breeding season, it is not uncommon to see Upland Sandpipers, Wilson’s Snipes, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Meadowlarks and several species of grassland birds. On occasion, if one is lucky, a Loggerhead Shrike might be spotted.

We had gone to Cameron Ranch because birds like the Golden-winged Warbler are often found in old fields and woodland borders. This part of Ontario is the most northerly section of their breeding range.

Bob and I were very pleased to have close views of this Golden-winged Warbler. A few years earlier, our observations were limited to distant views of this species at Rondeau Provincial Park in Ontario. In 2008, Golden-winged Warblers were assessed as Threatened under the Species At Risk Act in Ontario based on large decreases in population between 1996 and 2006.

On the occasion of this sighting, Bob and I were happy for the Merlin App that alerted us to the nearby presence of a Golden-winged Warbler using the Voice Recognition feature. It made our day!