I did a short walk up on the ridge from about 6:00-7:00 AM, primarily to see if I might hear the song of a Bicknell's Thrush again, but also to see what might be frequenting the "brushfire area". I did not hear a Bicknell's song, but I did find a Gray-cheeked/Bicknell's type thrush in the "brushfire area". Unfortunately it did not vocalize, so I hesitate to try to identify the bird to species. However, Joe DiCostanzo had a confirmed Bicknell's sighting in that same area just a few days ago. The bird I saw fits the description that he shared with me. I suspect that the burned saplings are replicating in part, the "disturbed" and "stunted", ridge line habitat that is associated with Bicknell's Thrush, causing what appears to be at least two individuals, to linger a little longer than usual on their journey north. Interestingly, this habitat seems to also be attractive to Gray-cheeked Thrush, giving a nice opportunity to study these two closely related taxa ( or races) within close proximity of each other. To access the burned area of the ridge, take the main, or east paved ridge trail north. Walk until the trail begins to slope downward, the pavement narrows and has lots of crags due to water damage, look to your right and you should see a burned fallen tree near a relict lamppost. Near the lamppost is a dirt path that goes downslope and hooks around going back south- the brushfire area begins there and is concentrated to the right of that dirt path. A detailed description of the bird can be viewed in my eBird checklist from this morning. Good luck to those who try for it.
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18595088 Happy birding, Nadir Souirgi, Inwood, NYC -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
