This would be very good to add to the NE Discord app. However, it is too
long and I cannot add it.
Mary Clausen
La Vista, NE
On Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 10:11 AM Kathy DeLara via groups.io <renosmom=
<charter.net...> wrote:
> Hi ,
> I thought you all might be interested in Cheryl's post about her Merlin
> experiences this summer.
> I had no idea that goldfinches would mimic other birds. I find that very
> interesting.
>
> Kathy DeLara
> Micthell, NE
>
> ----------Forwarded Message----------
>
> From: "Ricky Olson via groups.io" <olsonr088...>
> Reply-To: <olsonr088...>
> To: <killdeer54...>
> Cc: "SDOU Listserv (groups.io)" <sd-birds...>
> Sent: July 20, 2026 at 2:54 PM MDT
> Subject: Re: [sd-birds] TLDR: Am. Goldfinches mimic Ovenbirds
> Thanks for sharing the interesting information.
>
> On Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 3:52 PM Cheryl Vellenga via groups.io <killdeer54=
> <yahoo.com...> wrote:
>
>> The admonition to "trust but verify" when using either the Merlin app or
>> our own ear-birding skills is as important as ever and even more
>> challenging when a myriad of new bird sounds bombard us during this period
>> of the breeding season. I'll share a few of my own recent experiences to
>> underscore this reminder.
>>
>> In the past couple of weeks I've been hearing clear, emphatic, perfectly
>> rendered ovenbird songs in my yard. Initially, I was confused because if
>> there were breeders in the yard I would've been hearing them all summer,
>> which I hadn't this year since spring migration. That alone was enough to
>> keep me from reporting it until I could verify the observation. In the
>> ensuing days, amidst the cacophony, I would hear the song on occasion,
>> always out of nowhere, sung once (TEACHer repeated 5-7x), and that was it,
>> so there was no chance of getting a recording. Yesterday, I finally caught
>> an American Goldfinch belting out the song and immediately going into
>> typical Goldfinch song. A Google search on the phenomenon schooled me on
>> the talented mimicry of American Goldfinches and that one of their favorite
>> birds to mimic is the Ovenbird because of the song's simplicity and
>> clarity. The last 2 weeks of July are when the breeding season (and thus
>> the singing) of Ovenbirds is ending but the Goldfinch breeding season (and
>> their singing) is at its peak.
>>
>> There've been several House Wren pairs nesting around the yard as usual,
>> and one couple nested in a large wiring conduit elbow that goes to the
>> transformer near the deck, making it easy to watch the family's progress.
>> When the nestlings began vocalizing their raspy, ardent begging calls,
>> Merlin always, and I mean always, called them Marsh Wrens. It had done
>> this off and on throughout the summer but I ignored the ID when it was in
>> the yard.
>>
>> For the past several days, I've been hearing and recording calls that I
>> couldn't place and Merlin absolutely will not ID. Days of sleuthing
>> revealed finally that the calls are coming from the many Rose-breasted
>> Grosbeak fledglings that were being fed in the surrounding trees by the
>> parents, but are now coming to the feeders themselves. The Sibley app
>> lists the calls as "teeyoo calls (immature)" and "turlee calls
>> (immature)". Merlin does not recognize these calls even when I play them
>> right on my phone with Merlin listening.
>>
>> This morning, Merlin ID'd an American Robin in the yard as a Northern
>> Flicker because the cadence was correct.
>>
>> I love using Merlin as an aid, especially in alerting me that certain
>> birds may be nearby. I can listen for them myself to verify its findings
>> or I can look for the birds if need be. Knowing that Merlin uses
>> spectrograms to ID bird sounds reminds us that a matching spectrogram, if
>> made by a skilled mimic (or even baby House Wrens), will be matched to a
>> corresponding graph in Merlin's database.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Cheryl VellengaSisseton, SD*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
