We spent some time in Bryant Park today from 2:30pm to 4:30pm amidst the large crowds there for the holiday market and managed to find three of the four rarities that folks have been looking for lately. Even with the heavy traffic from the holiday market most of the birds didn't seem too perturbed.
The HERMIT THRUSH greeted us first in the small rectangular garden in the extreme NW corner of the park, moving among the bushes with the White-crowned Sparrows and a Gray Catbird. The YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were spending time both in the northern bush row in front of the library facing 5th Ave (the duller-faced bird) and in the "garden" directly north of the Celsius restaurant by the ice skating rink (the bird with the strong white upper eye arc). The 5th Ave Chat was best seen for us by standing on the pavillion above the bushes and looking down over the concrete railing. At one point he flew through the rail and over to forage underneath the unoccupied small tables near the library and in the square of dirt near the three lighted christmas trees in that corner. The ice rink Chat was flying about and foraging in the dirt in that patch, occasionally spending time out of view underneath the stairs to the service entrance to the restaurant. The ice rink Chat was joined by the OVENBIRD, who took up new residence (if it's the same bird) in that patch. We didn't see him in the NW corner of the park with the Hermit Thrush, but he gave us many long looks foraging in this slightly less trafficked area behind the restaurant especially around the east of the two tall evergreen trees planed there (the Chat also spent a fair amount of time in this tree). Though that area was near where the Lincoln's Sparrow had been seen previously, we did not find him anywhere. Sara Burch Port Jefferson, NY -- 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/ --
