The Prothonatary Warbler first reported yesterday, Oct. 21, near the NY Public Library in Manhattan, may have been here for a while, based on a conversation I had this morning.
I arrived at the entrance to the NY Public Library, at 41st and 5th, Manhatttan, this morning at 7:15 AM. I walked up and down Fifth Ave., and up and down the stairs by the lion statues, to no avail for the first 15 minutes. Around 7:30, in the area up the steps and to the left of the left lion, there were two homeless men nursing beers at one of the tables. One of them emptied a bag of stale bread nearby, attracting a large flock, of pigeons mostly. One to two minutes later, the Prothonatary Warbler showed up! This fellow was remarkably tame, as has been reported, feeding on the ground right by the feet of the men. The men noted my astonishment, to which I said "That's a special bird, by your feet there." The talkative one of the two (quite a comedian, full of one-liners) said "You mean this here canary bird?" After explaining to them that it was not a canary, but a rare Prothonotrary Warbler, I asked the men if they had seen the bird before. The talkative one replied, "Yeah, that's been here for the past month", while the other one nodded in agreement. While hearsay from two homeless men drinking beer early in the morning may not exactly meet the rigorous criteria of a NYSARC review, nonetheless it is fascinating. Karlo Mirth Forest Hills, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
