
Bird Watchers Know That It Is Certainly Not Possible To See Every Bird, But Yet Include It In The Ebird Database Entry.
With the trees and shrubs leafed out, it can be unusually challenging to spot any small bird. Add to the adventure, a bird with an extraordinary ability to move as quickly as a wren, being careful to hide from a would-be photographer, all the while singing the distinctive warbler tune, “witchity-witchity-witchity.” A tiny and beautiful bird, “common” throughout North America and much of Alberta, the Common Yellowthroat awaits your visit.

Nicknamed The “Bandit”, The Common Yellowthroat Is Truly a Visible Treat.
This skulker has the scientific name “Geothlypis” which means “earth finch”, reflecting the ground-dwelling habits that make it difficult to spot. As named, the male indeed has a bright yellow throat and a distinctive black mask defined with a white border. Feathers on the back are an olive hue, while the feathers below the tail are yellow. The female lacks the bandit mask and had buff colored feathers below.

If you were seeking to spot a yellowthroat, an initial starting place would be in the wetlands, where cattails and dense low thickets grow. In our experience, listening for the “witchity-witchity-witchity” call first, significantly helps locate this species. Then it is a matter of watching and waiting. Recently Elaine and I spotted both a male and female yellowthroat in a long stretch of cattails at Gray Park in Strathmore. With cameras in hand and the index finger on the shutter button, we waited, hoping the yellowthroat would come up out of the cattails and join the digital world. Aware of our presence, both birds kept a low profile, hopping deftly from the base of one cattail to another, gifting us with glimpses of their beauty. This is where patience can be a birder’s greatest virtue, waiting for a yellowthroat to reveal itself in the cattails along Lake Chestermere or at Gray Park in Strathmore.

Fortunately, the yellowthroat’s own curiosity about who or what was watching them, worked in our favour. After a few moments hiding, the pair appeared, moving up the cattails to see if we were still there. The digital moment had arrived, if only briefly. Within seconds the pair moved down into the cattails, likely not too far from where the well hidden nest would be located. Intelligent as well, the parents never fly directly to a nest to feed the young. Instead, they land some distance away and walk secretively to the nest, complete with insects for the young to consume.
With a global population of 75 million, it would seem the yellowthroat is indeed common. However its total population has declined by 26% from 1966 to 2019. Loss of habitat and climate change are likely key drivers in reducing their numbers. For us, this bird is “uncommon” in sighting it, making it more satisfying when we are in its presence.
– Don Cassidy