Ellen sent this email to me, but subsequently asked me to post it to the
list. I still wonder if there remain two Chats and two Ovenbirds. A
challenge to anyone who wants to try to figure that out:)
Ardith Bondi
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Bryant Park - YB Chat 12/17/11
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:07:25 -0500
From: lnmp <l...@nycap.rr.com>
To: <ard...@earthlink.net>
Hi,
I also saw the Yellow-Breasted Chat in Bryant Park on Saturday. I would
love to see your photos if you can provide a link.
I live in the Albany area, where I'm on the Board of the Hudson-Mohawk
Bird Club. I was planning to be in NYC on Saturday, so I checked Birding
on the Net to see if there had been any interesting bird sightings
recently. When I saw the posts on the NY Birding List about the chat, I
knew I HAD to look for it, as it would be a lifebird for me.
By the time my husband and I reached Bryant Park Saturday afternoon, the
place was mobbed with people, especially around the ice skating rink and
vendor booths. We knew we had only an hour or so before it would start
getting dark, so we had to be quick. The posts from the last several
weeks (not including yours, which I didn't see until that night) gave us
clues about where to look.
In the southeast side of Bryant Park, next to an employee-only storage
area, we found an Ovenbird right on the ground, in plain sight. That's
the first time I've seen in Ovenbird in NYC - wow! We also saw quite a
few White-Throated Sparrows.
Discouraged by the number of people on the north side of the park, the
chat's "preferred location" according to one post, we raced over to the
Fifth Avenue side in front of the library, splitting up and checking
just about every shrub. My husband the non-birder (!) finally spotted
the chat... and after he found ME, I was able to get a good look at it.
It was perched in a shrub below the library terrace (i.e., facing Fifth
Avenue), towards the northern end... Very cool to see.
I think someone may have taken photos of us, but otherwise, probably
noticed this crazed birder in front of the library - we didn't see
anyone else with binoculars around there!
-Ellen Pemrick
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